Despite the progress made by modern medicine, many deadly diseases still stalk the world’s people. Among these are necrotizing fasciitis, Ebola, cholera, and certain forms of cancer.

Necrotizing Fasciitis

Commonly known as flesh-eating disease, this illness is caused by group A strep bacteria. A break in the skin such as a burn, a small cut, or an insect bite allows the class A strep bacterium to enter the body. The first sign of illness is often unusual pain and swelling around the injury. Symptoms usually progress rapidly, which is one of the medical markers of the disease.

Within 24 hours after infection begins, heat, redness and tenderness spread outward from the original wound. The redness may turn purple or blue within 48 hours. Dark fluid-filled blisters may develop.

Soon, flu-like symptoms develop. The patient suffers from nausea and dehydration. Within 4 or 5 days, the first signs of gangrene develop. Signs of shock may follow, including confusion and dizziness. Then comes the ominous scaling, peeling or and sloughing off of skin over the infected area.

The infection continues to spread to surrounding tissue. About 1 in 5 patients with necrotizing fasciitis will die from the infection. Some very aggressive strains of bacteria kill within 2 to 4 days.

Ebola

With a mortality rate of 90 percent, this is one of the most deadly diseases known. Symptoms appear suddenly, about 4 or 5 days after infection. At first they mimic the flu; sudden high fever, muscle aches, chills, sore throat, and weakness. Because of similarity to signs of the flu, this may delay treatment.

With time, other symptoms appear and become increasingly intense. The Ebola victim experiences vomiting, diarrhea that may be bloody, stomach pain, red eyes, raised rash, chest pain and cough, severe weight loss, and bleeding from the mouth, nose, rectum, eyes and ears.

The Ebola virus lives in animals and is usually transmitted to people from animals. It can then be transferred from one human to another through infected body fluids or contaminated needles. No effective treatment has been found except for supportive care.

Cholera

Cholera is among the most feared of diarrheal diseases, but by no means the only dangerous one. Severe diarrheal diseases are transmitted through contaminated drinking water. Cholera is caused by a bacterium named Vibrio Cholerae. The disease causes severe watery diarrhea and dehydration. Untreated, it can be fatal within hours.

Symptoms include:

• Sudden, copious watery diarrhea, up to a quart per hour
• Nausea and vomiting that may continue for hours
• Mild to severe dehydration. Loss of 10 percent of body weight indicates severe dehydration.
• Irritability, lethargy, dry mouth, sunken eyes, extreme thirst, low blood pressure, dry and shriveled skin, little or no urine, irregular heartbeat
• Dehydration may lead to loss of minerals (electrolytes) in the blood. This causes electrolyte imbalance and leads to more severe signs.
• Muscle cramps due to rapid loss of salts
• Shock because dehydration leads to low blood volume and thus low blood pressure. Low oxygen results and can lead to death within minutes.

While the developed world enjoys clean water and good sanitation, this is not true for 1/3 of the world’s population. This leaves people in developing countries vulnerable to diarrheal disease which is especially dangerous to infants and young children. Diarrhea causes an annual death toll of 2 million. With sanitation and clean drinking water, this disease is completely preventable.

Avian Influenza

Influenza causes an annual death toll in the United States alone of 37,000 people. Worldwide, 250,000-500,000 people die from this viral infection each year. Few diseases take this kind of consistent yearly toll.

Because the viruses that cause influenza mutate so readily, scientists must develop new vaccines each year to deal with the new strains. Influenza has the potential to become far more lethal, causing a pandemic.

The familiar symptoms of flu come on suddenly and include fever, body aches, intestinal problems, and upper respiratory infections. Secondary infections like pneumonia can develop and quickly become severe.

Experts believe that another flu epidemic is likely to happen soon. They are concerned about the possibility of another pandemic like the Spanish Influenza of 1918, which killed between 21 million and 50 million people, several times the toll from World War I.

Avian flu is a very severe form of influenza that attacks not just the respiratory system, but every tissue in the body. Formerly confined to bird species, the virus jumped to human victims in 1997. This was the first known instance of a virus jumping from birds to humans.

When Avian Influenza has broken out in human populations, about 60 percent of the victims have died. Most cases affect previously healthy children and adults. Symptoms of Avian Influenza include:

• Cough
• Fever
• Sore throat
• Muscle aches
• Nausea, Vomiting Diarrhea
• Shortness of breath
• Gastroenteritis and encephalitis may develop. Encephalitis causes severe head pain.
• Severe respiratory disease
• Pneumonia
• Eye infections

Most people in developed countries think of influenza as an inconvenience that must be endured and will pass. This is not always true. H1N1 influenza (another name for Avian Influenza) can be one of the very deadly diseases that affect human populations.

The best way to guard against deadly diseases is to maintain fitness and follow your physician’s advice concerning vaccinations and other medical treatments. Those with chronic underlying conditions are generally more vulnerable to developing deadly diseases. In the case of Avian Influenza, healthy young adults are among the most likely victims. Anyone who develops symptoms of one of these deadly diseases should get in touch with his or her physician immediately.