Parasitic Diseases List

Overview Podoconiosis is a non-infectious geochemical leg swelling (lymphoedema) caused by long-term exposure of bare feet to irritant soils. It is responsible for an estimated 4 million cases of lymphoedema in highland tropical and sub-tropical areas of 17 countries in Africa, Central and South America and South and South-East Asia. Podoconiosis affects poor, remote, subsistence farming communities and, by affecting livelihoods, it traps these communities in poverty. Women and girls are both more likely to contract podoconiosis and more likely to suffer from its social and economic consequences. Interventions include prevention of contact with the soil through consistent wearing of shoes from an early age and daily foot washing. Treatment using a holistic lymphoedema management package has been demonstrated to decrease swelling, disability and incidence of acute attacks, improve quality of life, and can be readily mainstreamed into government community health services. Scope of the pr...

The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan recently died peacefully at the age of 65 after suffering viral encephalitis. MacGowan revealed he was diagnosed with encephalitis last year in a video posted to social media on New Year's Eve in 2022. Best known for the song Fairytale Of New York, he had been due to celebrate his 66th birthday on Christmas Day. He is survived by his wife Victoria, his sister Siobhan and his father Maurice. In recent years, MacGowan had been confined to a wheelchair and was cared for by his wife. The musician was suffering from a serious brains welling, which saw him in and out of hospital for much of his late life. What encephalitis is and signs Viral encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain caused by a viral infection. Though the condition is uncommon, it is very serious. It occurs when a virus enters the brain, leading to an inflammatory response. The symptoms and severity of viral encephalitis can vary, ranging from mild flu-like symptoms to more sever...

Keith Roach, M.D., syndicated columnist DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm concerned about my blood pressure. I take readings twice a day, in the a.m. and p.m. I find that when I first take my blood pressure, it is high. Then, after I wait 5-10 minutes and retake it, it is sometimes 10 points lower in the second reading. If I am recording these pressures for my primary care physician, should I use the second reading? Also, I'm on 25 mg of hydrochlorothiazide, 4 mg of doxazosin and 5 mg of amlodipine. My doctor just prescribed 80 mg of valsartan. I'm concerned that I'm on too many drugs for blood pressure. He wants to have me monitor my blood pressure for a month to see how I'm doing. Am I being overly concerned about this? — A.G.M. ANSWER: When the second blood pressure is consistently lower than the first just a few minutes earlier, that's good evidence that you may be nervous when checking your blood pressure. T...

Intestinal worms are parasites that live in the gut and can make you sick. They are some of the world's most common parasites. As a group, these parasitic worms are called helminths . Because they live in the gut, you can sometimes tell you have an infection of intestinal worms by looking at your stool.  Seeing worms or eggs in your poop isn't the only way to tell if you have a parasitic infection. You may also have various digestive and non-digestive symptoms triggered by the worms or your body's reaction to them. This article will review the symptoms of intestinal worms and ways to determine if you have them by examining your stool. It will also cover how intestinal worms are treated.  South_agency / Getty Images Intestinal Worms: How Do You Know You Have Them? Intestinal worms are most common in lower-income countries. The symptoms of intestinal worms may vary based on the worm. Often, people will have no symptom...

Bleeding disorders are a group of conditions that result when the blood cannot clot properly. As a result, people with bleeding disorders experience extended bleeding after injury, menstruation, trauma, or surgery, and in many situations depending on the severity, spontaneous bleeding into joints, muscles, or other parts of their bodies. Improper clotting results from defects in blood components, such as clotting proteins and/or platelets. The body produces 13 different clotting proteins, also called clotting factors. If any of these clotting factors are missing or not working properly, a bleeding disorder can result. Bleeding disorders are quite rare, and some bleeding disorders such as hemophilia, can be congenital (hereditary) or acquired. Congenital bleeding disorders are caused by defects or damage in the genes and are present at birth. They can be inherited or appear due to a genetic mutation. Acquired bleeding disorders are those that develop after birth or spontaneously occur i...

Knowles DP, Kappmeyer LS, Stiller D, Hennager SG, Perryman LE. Antibody to a recombinant merozoite protein epitope identifies horses infected with Babesia equi . J Clin Microbiol. 1992;30:3122–6. Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar  Ueti MW, Palmer GH, Kappmeyer LS, Statdfield M, Scoles GA, Knowles DP. Ability of the vector tick Boophilus microplus to acquire and transmit Babesia equi following feeding on chronically infected horses with low level parasitaemia. J Clin Microbiol. 2005;43:3755–9. Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar  Uilenberg G. Babesia —a historical overview. Vet Parasitol. 2006;138:3–10. Article  PubMed  Google Scholar  Heim A, Passos LM, Ribeiro MF, Costa-Junior LM, Bastos...

UK Health Security Agency Updated 27 November 2023 Contents Interpreting this report Notable incidents of public health significance Other incidents of interest Novel pathogens and diseases Publications of interest Related resources Authors of this report Print this page © Crown copyright 2023 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The Nationa...