Contagious Diseases Introduction

General Information

Microbes thrive in cities where dense crowds of people are in constant contact, breathing, coughing and sneezing the same air, are sexually promiscuous, and generate massive quantities of garbage, and drink water contaminated by the sewage.  Viruses, bacteria and parasites and fungi are the most commonly known types of microbes.

Modes of transmission:

1.       Contact transmission:  Direct contact with the host as in venereal disease or indirect contact through contaminated objects or the close-range spread of respiratory droplets.

2.       Airborne transmission:  Results from inhalation of contaminated evaporated saliva droplets (as in pulmonary tuberculosis), which are sometimes suspended in airborne dust particles.

3.       Enteric (oral-fecal) transmission:  Organisms in feces are ingested by susceptible victims, often through fecally contaminated food or water (as in salmonella infections).

4.       Vectorborne transmission:  Occurs when an intermediate carrier (vector), such as a flea or mosquito, transfers an organism.

Causes of Contagious Diseases

Viruses

·         HIV virus which causes AIDS: transmitted by blood and other bodily fluids.

·         Hepatitis:  5 different types of hepatitis; transmitted by saliva, urine, feces, blood, and other bodily secretions; can be contracted by ingestion of contaminated food, water, and contact with a carrier.

·         Cancer & Leukemia:  Carried by animals, especially pigs & chickens.

·         Influenza & Common Cold:  Transmitted by saliva and mucus; also carried by animals and transmitted through their feces (pigs, migratory birds, etc.)

Bacteria

·         Cholera:  Transmitted through food and water contaminated by feces

·         Salmonella:  Can cause different symptoms ranging from food poisoning to typhoid fever; transmitted by ingestion of contaminated foods, especially eggs, chicken, turkey, and milk, and contaminated water; spread by feces

·         Typhoid Fever:  Most commonly spread through water contaminated with feces or urine (asymptomatic carriers may transmit).

·         Tuberculosis:  Spread by coughing or sneezing and through mucous secretions

·         Pneumonia:  Spread by coughing or sneezing and through mucous secretions

·         Escherichia Coli:  Contracted from food and water contaminated by human or animal feces; can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and even death

·         Leprosy:  Caused by Mycobacterium leprae, an acid-fast bacillus that attacks cutaneous tissue and peripheral nerves.

Fungus

·         Yeast & Molds:  Contracted by eating or drinking contaminated foods and by contact with a carrier or items used by a carrier

·         Athlete’s Foot (Tinea pedis) and Ringworm of the Feet:  Contact transmission, especially on wet surfaces

Parasites

·         Worms:  Usually passed through feces to mouth

·         Roundworms - passed through feces

·         Pinworms - lay eggs just outside anus causing itching; passed by eggs stuck to hands from scratching

·         Whipworms - passed through feces

·         Hookworms - passed through feces (enter body through bare feet)

·         Tapeworms - contracted by eating pork, beef, fish, or chicken that is not well cooked

·         Trichinosis - contracted by eating undercooked meat, esp. pork

·         Amoebas:  Contracted by contaminated drinking water or food; can crawl from soil onto vegetables

·         Flukes:  Spread as an infected person urinates or defecates in water.  Worm eggs are spread into the water, hatch, and then go into snails.  They then leave the snails and go into a person who washes or swims in the water.

·         Malaria:  Transmitted by mosquitoes through the blood.

·         Mites (Scabies):  Contracted by contact with an infected person, his bedding, clothes, etc.

Suggestions to stop the spread of disease

1. Bathe regularly (every day).  Bathing removes germs and eggs from the skin.  Cleanliness helps prevent bacteria, viruses and fungi from multiplying.  It also helps prevent skin infections, dandruff, pimples, lice, and rashes.  This is especially important if you are sick.
2. Wash your hands often.  It is important to wash your hands as soon as you get up in the morning, after you go to the bathroom, before you prepare food, before you eat, and any other time they get dirty. 
3. Keep your fingernails short and clean underneath. 
4. Do not put your hands in your mouth.  Your hands are constantly touching people or things that may be contaminated with disease.
5. Do not let animals lick your face.  All animals, including dogs and cats, carry disease.  Keep them away from your face and off beds and tables.  Wash your hands after touching or petting them.
6. Do not let children play where there are animal feces.  Animal feces carry disease.
7. Protect food from flies and other insects.  Insects, especially flies, carry and spread disease and germs. 
8. Keep animals away from your from food preparation areas and drinking water supply. 
9. Wash and hang sheets and blankets in the sun often to kill disease.  Sun all bedding materials.
10. Do not eat food that has been dropped on the floor or ground unless you can wash it.
11. Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them.  This is especially important for foods that will not be cooked, even if they will be peeled; germs may be transferred from the peel to the inside by your hands.  Vinegar may help remove pesticides. 
12. If you choose to eat meat, fish, or chicken, make sure they are well cooked.  Animal flesh carries viruses, bacteria, and worm eggs.
13. Wash your hands after preparing flesh foods.
14. Do not eat food that smells bad or has mold on it.
15. Never drink raw milk; if it is not pasteurized, boil it before drinking. 
16. Do not eat from the same plate or utensil as someone who is sick.  It is best not to eat from the same plate or utensil as anyone else at all.  Germs are carried by saliva and transferred by food or utensils. 
17. Sick children should not sleep or eat with those that are not sick.  Lice and infectious diseases can be spread by sleeping or eating together.
18. Bathroom areas should be away from water supplies that are used for drinking.  If you do not have a septic tank, human wastes should be buried so animals cannot get to it.
19. Bathrooms should be kept clean and disinfected with bleach regularly to kill germs.
20. Garbage should be burned or buried away from houses and drinking water.  Food scraps and garbage should not be piled around your house; the rotting process breeds germs and also produces toxins that pollute the air and are detrimental to health.
21. Keep houses clean to control germs, bacteria and other organisms.
22. Drinking water may be boiled for 20 minutes to kill microorganisms.