Cholera

Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera, is a contagious gastroenteritis caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Transmission to humans occurs through the process of ingesting contaminated water or food. The major reservoir for cholera was long assumed to be humans themselves, but considerable evidence exists those aquatic environments can serve as reservoirs of the bacteria.

Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium that produces cholera toxin, an enterotoxin, whose action on the mucosal epithelium lining of the small intestine is responsible for the characteristic massive diarrhoea of the disease.In its most severe forms, cholera is one of the most rapidly fatal illnesses known, and a healthy person may become hypotensive within an hour of the onset of symptoms; infected patients may die within three hours if treatment is not provided. In a common scenario, the disease progresses from the first liquid stool to shock in 4 to 12 hours, with death following in 18 hours to several days without oral rehydration therapy.

Blindness

Blindness is the condition of missing visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.

Various scales have been developed to explain the extent of vision loss and define "blindness”. Total blindness is the entire lack of form and visual light perception and is clinically recorded as "NLP," an abbreviation for "no light perception”. Blindness is normally used to describe severe visual impairment with residual vision. Those described as having only "light perception" have no more sight than the capacity to tell light from dark. A person with only "light projection" can tell the common direction of a light source.

In order to determine which people may need special assistance because of their visual disabilities, various governmental jurisdictions have formulated more difficult definitions referred to as legal blindness. In North America and most of Europe, legal blindness is defined as visual acuity (vision) of 20/200 (6/60) or less in the improved eye with best correction possible. This means that a officially blind individual would have to stand 20 feet (6.1 m) from an object to see it—with vision correction—with the same degree of clarity as a usually sighted person could from 200 feet (61 m). In many areas, people with average acuity who nevertheless have a visual field of less than 20 degrees (the norm being 180 degrees) are also classified as being legally blind. About ten percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to comparatively good acuity. Low vision is sometimes used to illustrate visual acuities from 20/70 to 20/200.

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis (also known as gastro, gastric flu, and stomach flu although unrelated to influenza) is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, involving both the stomach and the small intestine and resulting in acute diarrhea. The inflammation is caused most often by infection with certain viruses, less often by bacteria or their toxins, parasites, or poor reaction to something in the diet or medication. Worldwide, insufficient treatment of gastroenteritis kills 5 to 8 million people per year, and is a leading cause of death among infants and children under 5.

At least 50% of cases of gastroenteritis as food borne illness are due to nor virus. An additional 20% of cases, and the majority of severe cases in children, are due to rotavirus. Other significant viral agents include adenovirus and astrovirus.

Many unusual bacteria can cause gastroenteritis, including Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium, Escherichia coli, Yersinia, and others. Various sources of the infection are improperly prepared food, reheated meat dishes, seafood, dairy, and bakery products. Each organism causes somewhat different symptoms but all result in diarrhea.

Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is a cruel growth on the skin which can have many causes. Skin cancer usually develops in the epidermis (the outermost layer of skin), so a tumor is usually clearly visible. This makes most skin cancers visible in the early stages. There are three general types of skin cancer, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises. Cancers may occur by UV exposure may be prevented by avoiding exposure to sunlight or other UV sources, and wearing sun-protective clothes. The use of sunscreen is suggested by medical organizations as a measure that helps to protect against skin cancer.

Unlike various types of cancers, including those originating in the lung, pancreas, and stomach, only a small minority of those afflicted will actually die of the disease. Skin cancers are the highest growing type of cancer in the United States. Skin cancer represents the most frequently diagnosed malignancy, surpassing lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancer. More than 1 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer in 2008.

Blindness

Blindness is the condition of missing visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.

Various scales have been developed to explain the extent of vision loss and define "blindness”. Total blindness is the entire lack of form and visual light perception and is clinically recorded as "NLP," an abbreviation for "no light perception”. Blindness is normally used to describe severe visual impairment with residual vision. Those described as having only "light perception" have no more sight than the capacity to tell light from dark. A person with only "light projection" can tell the common direction of a light source.

In order to determine which people may need special assistance because of their visual disabilities, various governmental jurisdictions have formulated more difficult definitions referred to as legal blindness. In North America and most of Europe, legal blindness is defined as visual acuity (vision) of 20/200 (6/60) or less in the improved eye with best correction possible. This means that a officially blind individual would have to stand 20 feet (6.1 m) from an object to see it—with vision correction—with the same degree of clarity as a usually sighted person could from 200 feet (61 m). In many areas, people with average acuity who nevertheless have a visual field of less than 20 degrees (the norm being 180 degrees) are also classified as being legally blind. About ten percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to comparatively good acuity. Low vision is sometimes used to illustrate visual acuities from 20/70 to 20/200.

Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is due to a trouble with the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

CSF moves throughout pathways of the brain called ventricles. It also flows around the exterior of the brain and through the spinal canal. Higher-than-normal amounts of CSF can occur in the brain if the flow or combination of CSF is blocked, or if too much CSF is produced. The build up of liquid puts pressure on the brain, pushing the brain up against the skull and damaging or destroying brain tissues.

The symptoms depend on the cause of the blockage, the person's age, and how much brain tissue has been injured by the swelling.

Bacterial vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis or vaginitis is an inflammation which occurs in the vagina and includes a number of strains of germ that cause bacterial vaginosis yeast infections and trichomoniasis. Many women wrongly believe that yeast infections are the most common type of vaginal infection but bacterial vaginosis is the most frequently occurring vaginal infection affecting from 10 percent to 64 percent of the female population at any given time.


Bacterial vaginosis occurs mainly during the reproductive years although women of all ages are susceptible to this infection that affects the vagina, urethra, bladder, and skin in the genital area.