Tropical Diseases
Reasons to Stay Home!
By Kathy Olson
- T. cruzi--caused by the bite of the reduviid bug, usually from
sleeping in huts/structures. It feeds at night, causes chagas disease.
The bug can be cured in the acute stage, not in the chronic form. Invades
heart muscle, and can cause heart arrythmia's, myositis, in the intestine
toxic megacolon and esophageal problems. Hard to diagnose, can require
zoological diagnosis...ie have a unifected bug bite someone and then see
if the bug gets infected then you know the person was.
- Schistosomiasis-in the water (white water) any place with snails around
is at risk. Highest risk is Africa...Lake Malawi (and moderate risk Lake
Tanganyika), but present now in South America. Also called swimmers itch. End
up with cercariae (the water form) invade through the skin, get a
bite/rash at the site of entry, they mature to
flukes in the blood vessels and then lay eggs which penetrate through the
blood vessel into the gut or the urinary bladder (where they exit the
body...the bladder one S. haematobium isn't in south america). The eggs
can get caught in the liver circulation and with time lead to cirrhosis of
the liver. Can be treated if found early, cirrhosis of the liver is
irreversible.
- Leishmaniasis (Kala Azar)-sand fly bites....lead to enlarged spleen,
low platlets, low RBC/anemia, fever and lethargy. If untreated and severe, it can be fatal. With treatment, the mortality is 5%.
- Filariasis (Wuchereria bancroftii) transmitted by mosquito bites, a
parasitic worm infection, blocks lymphatic ducts...causes edema, in worst
stages called elephantiasis...not treatable/curable. [Ed: Your ankeles will be the size of your thighs.]
- Onchocerciasis aka River blindness: Caused by Onchocerca
volvulus...transmitted by a bite of the female blackfly. Get itchy bumps
at the site of tthe bite and develop lumps under the skin...lasts
awhile...the microfilariae migrate
through tissue and concentrate in the eyes, cause lesions that lead to
blindness (in endemic areas infection rates 80%, usually in areas along
rivers) Treatment is available but only effective against the blood phase.
- There is some amebic thing that my friend saw when she went and
practiced medicine in Peru for two months...it usually infects kids,
causes localized facial swelling, they know it is in the water and
transmitted that way, but not all the details yet. No adults were
reported with it...untreatable and universally fatal...progressive over
years.
- Other less worrisome stuff/treatable/avoidable/
Misc...Typhoid,
Dengue (fever, arthlagias, vomiting rash...rare cases
hemorrhagic, shock, etc), Malaria, Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A (get the
vaccine if you haven't already, B is a good idea too), MMR (get updated
if you haven't had another shot since High school), cholera, plaque,
rabies (we saw a bat with this. Advice: Avoid caves with bat dung, and avoid
bats who are out in the day light...with a large radius), Relapsing fever,
Oropouch Virus Disease, Brucella (from Cheese, milk etc), Trichinosis from
pork, Salmonella (eggs)
http://geocities.datacellar.net/NapaValley/5491
Latest update: 17 March 2000
Comments on this page: E-Mail the author: kathy at thekrib dot com