Diseases caused by Bacteria and Viruses

1. Diseases caused by Bacteria and Viruses By: Asiah Edwards

2. Streptococcus • It’s scientific name is Streptococcus pyogenes is the name of the bacteria that causes streptococuss. • It’s common name is strep throat. • Symptoms include sore throat, severe pain when swallowing, a fever (101 ° F or above), red and swollen tonsils ( sometimes with white patches or streaks of pus), tiny red spots on the soft or hard palate, headache, nausea and/or vomiting, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, body aches, and a rash. • A person can have the strep “bug” for months before it actually turns on them and gets them sick they will b sick for a while because they might mistake it for a cold or the flu but once it is found out and treated it should only last for a day maybe two at the most. • If someone was to have strep throat they would go to the doctor and the doctor would do a culture on a sample of said infected tissue or area of the mouth. If the test comes back positive then they would start them on antibiotics such as penicillin, cephalexin, and clindamycin. After that your symptoms should subside and eventually go away. • When someone who has been infected with the bacteria sneezes, coughs, or breathes tiny droplets of the disease are released and anyone near said person will be infected. • Strep throat is most commonly confused with symptoms of a common cold or a flu but it happens a lot faster than normal.

3. Genital HPV (Human Papillomavirus) • It’s scientific name is human papillomavirus. • It’s common name is genital warts. • Symptoms include genital warts, precancerous lesions or cervical dysplasia, or it may not show ant symptoms what so ever. • A person can have these for the rest of their lives because it is a virus that does not go away. • Medical treatments include cryosurgery (where they freeze the warts off with liquid nitrogen), loop electrosurgical excision procedure aka LEEP ( using a wire loop to remove the abnormal cells), electrocautery (burning off the warts with an electrical current), laser therapy ( using an intense light to destroy the warts and any abnormal cells), and prescription cream (applying medical cream directly to the warts) • Genital warts is a sexually transmitted disease that you get when you do not use protection and you have several sexual partners.

4. Staphylococcus • It’s scientific name is staphylococcus aureus. • It’s common name is staph infection. • Symptoms include: abscess, cellulitis, it can also cause pneumonia, or bacteremia. • Some people can get the bacteria but never be infected. Most skin infections caused by the bacteria will go away on their own it may take a few weeks though. • It is transmitted when skin and mucous membranes meet or sometimes it can happen when you are undergoing surgery (saw it on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy) • Not many people die for the disease.

5. Measles • Its scientific name is Morbillivirusparamyxovirus • It’s common name is measles. • Symptoms include: high fever, red and runny nose, a characteristic rash, light sensitive eyes, and greyish white spots in the mouth and throat. • The infected person will probably be sick for a few days, maybe a week, possibly a month. • There really isn’t a specified medical treatment for the measles. There is however a vaccine for the measles. • It is transmitted by millions of tiny droplets that are either sneezed or coughed out by an infected person and anyone around them is at risk of getting sick.

6. Tuberculosis • It’s scientific name is Mycobacterium tuberculosis • It’s common is tuberculosis. • Symptoms include: cough, fatigue, unintentional weight loss, fever, chills, night sweats, and loss of appetite. • If you do not receive medical attention you could very likely die from tuberculosis. • Medical treatments include: you will need to take antibiotics for at least 6 to 9 months the exact drug is based on your age, health, possible drug resistance, what form of TB that you have (latent or active), and the location of the infection on the body. • It is transmitted through the air by microscopic droplets that are released whenever an infection person coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs, or sings.

7. West Nile Virus • It’s scientific name is __________ Flaviviridae. • It’s common name is the West Nile Virus. • Symptoms include: no symptoms in some people and in cases of severe symptoms there is headache, high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, tremors, seizures, or paralysis. • A person could get the West Nile Virus and live but there is a 1 in 150 chance that someone may catch it and die from the virus. • There is no specific treatment for this virus or vaccine. It usually goes away on its own. • It is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito (so beware the buzz)