Description

Infectious Diseases

Infection or infection; Also known as infectious disease, infectiousness, transmission. It is a disease
table that occurs when germs or parasites with the ability to pass on to
humans by any pathogenic way enter the body. These diseases are often
described as contagious because they can be passed from one individual to
another or from one species to another.

Disease-causing organisms may be viruses, bacteria, rickettsia, fungi. All
infectious diseases can be passed on to humans in one or more ways. As is
the case from person to person, animal to person, contamination may occur from
soil to person.

The main types of transmission are as follows

• When droplets from the mouth are inhaled by someone else while sneezing,
coughing, talking (tuberculosis, whooping cough and various respiratory
diseases);
• By direct skin contact
• Through items used by the patient such as laundry, bedding and food items;
• With animals transmitting diseases from human to human or from animals to
human (the most vivid example of this is malaria carried by mosquitoes of the
anopheles. Likewise, pigeons carry “psittacosis” disease.);
• With the intake of food and drink contaminated with sickening microbes (The
major water-borne diseases are typhoid, dysentery, cholera, paratyphoid. Food
poisoning and gastroenteritis can also occur with food.);

• Infection of the baby from a sick mother during
pregnancy or during delivery (Syphilis, rubella, gonorrhea conjunctivitis, ie
eye inflammation caused by gonorrhea microbe can be transmitted this way.).

In artificially induced immunity, weakened or dead microbes or germ substances
are given to the person. Antibodies are formed against them without any
symptoms. Thus, the person is protected against disease. Vaccines
used against many diseases are like this. Vaccines are not effective in
all infectious diseases, but are effective in a certain number of diseases.

Those who are less fortunate in terms of getting the disease (those who get caught more) are as follows

1. Those who go to places where infectious diseases are epidemic,
2. Babies younger than three months,
3. Those who have infectious disease in their family,
4. The elderly and bedridden,
5. Those who have a disease that paralyzes the immune system such as
cancer,
6. Those who use immunosuppressive drugs.

There are some symptoms in infectious diseases that are found in almost all patients. These; fever,
weakness, anorexia, headache, and general body aches. There may be rashes
in some diseases (such as scarlet fever, measles, smallpox). There is
usually diarrhea in diseases that affect the digestive system.

Every newborn child should be vaccinated when the time comes. It should
keep the body strong and pay attention to eating and drinking. He should
lead an orderly life. If it is necessary to go to places with infectious
disease epidemics, a physician should be consulted about the measures to be
taken and the vaccinations to be made. He should not eat uncleaned food
and pay attention to body hygiene.

The treatment of infectious diseases is diverse and varies according to the
type of disease-causing microbe. Penicillin and similar antibiotics are
effective against bacteria. Diseases caused by protozoan (unicellular
organisms) such as malaria are also cured by drugs made of various chemical
substances. Virus diseases are not affected by antibiotics.

Major infectious diseases: Gonorrhea, Brucellosis, Smallpox, Diphtheria,
Dysentery (with amoebic or bacilli), Flu, Hepatitis, Measles, Cholera,
Meningitis, Psittacosis, Malaria, Chickenpox, Tetanus, Tularemia, Tuberculosis,
Sleeping sickness, Pneumonia, Typhoid, Typhus.