Infectious Diseases

Fistulas are tube-like passageways that can be surgically created in the body or formed abnormally as a result of a disease. In undeveloped countries, fistulas typically go untreated. Thankfully,...

Sars disease, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is a contagious respiratory infection that presents a number of symptoms and signs. In 2003, a global outbreak of Sars infected 8,000 people and...

Rubella is a viral disease, also known as the German measles or 3-day measles. In the United States, children are typically vaccinated for Rubella before they reach five years of age. When a woman...

Classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a hereditary disease. CJD has also been linked to mad cow disease. Generally, CJD leads to dementia and is rapidly progressive. CJD is rare and is a...

Many suffer from the discomfort and embarrassment of toenail fungus disease, which can start in a small area and spread to become a much larger infection. Toenail fungus can be painful and...

Typhoid fever is a serious infectious disease that is caused by the Salmonella typhi bacteria. This illness is rarely contracted in industrialized nations but infections can occur in developing...

Rabies is a virus many are aware of. However, how well does one really know rabies beyond popular media depictions? The facts about rabies might surprise you.

Shigella are bacteria that cause an infection called shigellosis. Shigellosis is marked by diarrhea, stomach cramping and fever. Since shigellosis is an infectious disease that can be serious in...

Influenza, or flu, is a contagious infection caused by a virus that primarily attacks the respiratory system. When the virus affects other parts of the body, you may have symptoms such as joint pain.

A Mayo Clinic Study in 1999 found that 37 million Americans suffer chronic sinus infections as a result of mold. "Black mold" is a catch-all term used to describe black and slimy molds. However,...

Dysentery is a bacterial disease in which strains of the bacterium shigella cause an infection in the gut. It is spread through contaminated food and water, and may also be spread from...

Hoof and mouth disease occurs in livestock---sheep, cattle, and pigs primarily---and not in humans. A disease often confused with hoof and mouth disease is called Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease...

Rabies is a disease that is virtually always fatal in both animals and humans without treatment. People suspected of having exposure to the rabies virus need help before the symptoms of the...

Parvo virus is a viral infection that is commonly found in children. Sometimes called fifth disease, parvo virus typically causes minor symptoms and is does not usually pose a serious threat.

Hand-foot-mouth disease is a viral infection that is commonly found in babies and young children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the most common symptoms of...

Bacteria play a huge role in our day-to-day life, living on and in us, carrying out a number of functions in symbiosis with our bodies. Called "normal flora," there are actually many types of...

Klebsiella genus is a gram-negative rod of the enterobacteriaceae family. This organism is found widely throughout nature and is part of the normal flora of the gastrointestinal tract, throat and...

Tuberculosis (TB) is is a bacterial infection. It usually attacks the lungs, but it can spread and attack other areas of the body. There are two types of TB: active TB disease and latent TB...

Every year, up to 20 percent of people in the United States will get the flu. The illness can range from mild, cold-like symptoms to a life-threatening condition. Understanding how the disease...

Typhoid disease, or typhoid fever, can cause death and is usually acquired during international travel, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People with typhoid disease...

Trypanasoma is a genus of parasitic protozoan hemoflagellates. Different species within the genus can infect animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and fish. In humans, there...

Meningitis is classified as an infection of the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. There are two types of meningitis, viral meningitis and bacterial...

Plasmodium is a genius of protozoan parasites that infects vertebrates. It is the infectious agent that causes malaria, a life-threatening disease caused by the bite of certain species of mosquito.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ticks carry and transmit pathogens, including rickettsiae, viruses, toxins, and bacteria. However, many tick bites do not result in an...

Potts disease is medically known as tuberculosis spondylitis, or spinal tuberculosis. A rare and very serious disorder, Potts disease is a form of tuberculosis that manifests outside the lungs...

Human African trypanosomiasis, more commonly called African sleeping sickness, is caused by an infectious protozoic parasite that comes only from from Sub-Saharan Africa. There are two regional...

The flesh-eating disease is a condition scientifically referred to as necrotizing fasciitis. It is caused by group A streptococcus bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and...

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious bacterial disease that primarily affects the lungs. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the...

Staph is a serious communicable skin infection that's often referred to as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Bacteria known as staphylocucus is what causes staph infections...

Cat scratch fever, also known as cat scratch disease, is an infection that causes swelling of the lymph nodes. The infection is spread by bacteria in the saliva or under the claws of an infected...

Lyme disease is an inflammatory condition that can develop after being bitten by an infected deer tick. The disease affects the nervous system and joints, and creates a host of symptoms.

C. diff, also referred to as C. difficile, is a highly contagious bacterium that commonly affects older adults in hospitals or long-term care facilities. Typically occurring after the use of...

Cat-scratch disease, also called cat-scratch fever, can result if your cat licks, bites or scratches you. It is characterized by a mild infection, which is caused by the bacteria Bartonella...

Chicken pox, which is also known as chickenpox or varicella, is a highly contagious infection that causes a rash. Healthy children usually have a mild case, but the disease can be severe in...

Tuberculosis is a worldwide problem. Despite the fact that the methods of prevention as well as treatment of this disease have been widely publicized across the globe, this disease still kills...

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection caused by Coccidioides immitis spores. Mild cases of this condition are uncommon and treatment is typically not needed. However, this disease is often...

Ingestion of food or drink contaminated with the eggs of the roundworm, and their subsequent hatching, results in an infection called Ascariasis, or as it is commonly called, Roundworm disease.

A communicable disease is an infectious disease that can be spread from other person to another through an agent such as a virus or bacteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the...

Weil's disease is part of a subset of diseases called infectious bacterial diseases. This class of diseases is highly contagious and extremely dangerous. Weil's disease, which is also known as...

Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection caused by the germ Mycobacterium tuberculosis. An airborne germ, TB is spread when someone who has the active disease talks, coughs or sneezes. TB affects the...

Meningitis neisseria, more commonly known as meningococcal meningitis, is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, the most serious form of the disease. It causes inflammation of the membranes...

Smallpox is an extremely contagious and frequently fatal disease. Caused by the Variola virus, there are two main forms of the disease, Variola major and Variola minor which present with similar...

Smallpox is an extremely virulent and often fatal disease caused by the Variola virus. Two primary forms of the disease, Variola major and Variola minor have similar signs and symptoms. Variola...

Smallpox is caused by an infectious agent called the variola virus. Smallpox is a contagious and serious disease that is frequently fatal. Toward the end of the 20th century, smallpox was...

Trypanosomiasis is an illness caused by a protozoan hemoflagellate. There are two forms of Trypanosomiasis. The first is Sleeping Sickness, in both the east and west African varieties. The second...

TB, or tuberculosis, is a bacterial infection that primarily affects the lungs. The bacteria is spread through respiratory secretions released into the air when an infected person coughs or...

Tuberculosis is a common but often fatal infectious disease caused by mycobacteria. The disease usually affects the lungs, although it can affect almost any bodily organ. According to the World...

Tuberculosis is a contagious respiratory disease that is transmitted from one infected person to another person through infected droplets during coughing. It is a serious bacterial condition in...

The disease meningitis has dozens of causes, including viruses and bacteria. It results in a swelling of the tissues which surround the brain. These tissues are known as the meninges. Symptoms of...

Chronic granulomatous disease is also known as fatal granulomatosis or childhood and progressive septic granulomatosis, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Chronic granulomatous...