Anthrax, or splenic fever, is a disease caused by bacteria. Both humans and other animals can get it. It is caused by the bacterium bacillus anthracis. It is common with even-toed ungulates. The spores of the bacteria can live for hundreds of years.
Brucellosis is a zoonosis (a disease that is spread from animals to humans). Humans get the disease by drinking milk that is unsterilized, or by eating meat from sick animals. Sometimes, but not very often, the disease can be spread from human to human.
Cholera is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae small intestine. There are many types (strains) of the Vibrio cholera bacteria. Some of them cause more serious illnesses than others. Because of this, some people who get cholera have no symptoms; others have symptoms that are not very bad, and others have very bad symptoms.
The most common symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea. dehydration.Cholera is a very old disease. Writings about cholera (written in Sanskrit) have been found from the 5th century BC.outbreaks and epidemics of cholera.
Dysentery is a disease that involves severe diarrhea. It is caused by a bacterium, which causes the intestines to swell up a lot. The main symptom of dysentery is having blood in the excrement. Some more symptoms are high fever and abdominal pain. It is usually treated with antibiotics. The diarrhea is severe and can be a problem for the people who catch the disease.
Epidemic typhus is a disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia prowazekii. It is one of the diseases known as Typhus, the other is endemic typhus. Sometimes it is mistaken for an unrelated disease with a similar name, Typhoid fever. The disease is spread by lice and fleas.
Leprosy is an infectious disease. It has been known for a very long time. Today, it is mostly called Hansen's disease, named after the person who discovered the bacterium, Gerhard Armauer Hansen. It is caused by a bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae. A person with leprosy is called a leper. As of 2004, the estimated number of new infections was about 400,000. Getting the disease is hard, since it requires close contact with someone who has it, over a long period of time. In addition, about 95% of people seem to be naturally immune to it. Most cases of leprosy occur in India, and other developing countries. It has known to have been in the US before. There are practically no cases of leprosy in the developed world. This is because there are excellent drugs and people regularly take antibiotics which will kill the leprosy bacteria. In former times, leprosy was seen as a divine punishment for sins committed.
Lyme disease or borreliosis, is an infectious disease. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia. The disease is carried by ticks which are parasitic on mammals such as mice and deer. In other words, ticks are the vector which transmits the disease. It is the most common tick-borne infection in the United States. Although Allen Steere realized in 1978 that Lyme disease was a tick-borne disease, the cause of the disease remained a mystery until 1982. It can cause joint swelling, rashes, and neurological disorders.
Meningococcal disease, also called meningococcal meningitis, is infections caused by the bacterium meningococcus (Neisseria meningitidis). If left untreated, the death rate is high. However, it can be prevented by vaccines. The disease is best-known for causing meningitis. It also causes blood infection, which then leads to sepsis. There are over 2,600 cases of bacterial meningitis in the United States per year. In developing countries, there are over 333,000 cases per year. The case death rate is between ten and twenty percent. Meningococcal disease is not as spreadable as the common cold. However, it can be passed between people through saliva.
Strep Throat, also known as Streptococcal pharyngitis, is an infection of the back of the throat including the tonsils caused by group A streptococcus. Common symptoms include fever, sore throat, red tonsils, and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck.