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From Page 12 of the
Santa
Cruz Public Health 2004 Winter Newsletter
at
http://www.santacruzhealth.org/pdf/PH%20Winter%20Newsletter%202004.pdf
Our thanks to
C.N.
Gordon
of Help
& Education
for Liver
Patients
(HELP!)
for providing the chart and link to
the Santa Cruz County statistics.
The incidence of the following infectious diseases was significantly
greater than HIV or AIDS. Linked information from the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Nemours
Foundation (Kids Health for Parents).
What is Campylobacteriosis?
Campylobacteriosis is an infectious disease
caused by bacteria of the genus Campylobacter. Most people who
become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain,
and fever within 2 to 5 days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea
may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The illness
typically lasts 1 week. Some persons who are infected with
Campylobacter don't have any symptoms at all. In persons with
compromised immune systems, Campylobacter occasionally spreads to
the bloodstream and causes a serious life-threatening infection.
Campylobacter is one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrheal
illness in the United States.
Chlamydia (“kla-MID-ee-uh”) is a curable sexually transmitted infection
(STI), which is caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis.
You can get genital chlamydial infection during oral, vaginal, or anal
sexual contact with an infected partner. It can cause serious problems in
men and women, such as penile discharge and infertility respectively, as
well as in newborn babies of infected mothers.
Chlamydia is one of the most widespread bacterial STIs in the United
States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates
that more than 3 million people are infected each year.
What is Giardiasis?
Giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis) is a diarrheal illness caused by a
one-celled, microscopic parasite, Giardia intestinalis (also
known as Giardia lamblia). Once an animal or person has been
infected with Giardia intestinalis, the parasite lives in the
intestine and is passed in the stool. Because the parasite is protected by
an outer shell, it can survive outside the body and in the environment for
long periods of time.
During the past 2 decades, Giardiainfection has become
recognized as one of the most common causes of waterborne disease (found
in both drinking and recreational water) in humans in the United States .
Giardia are found worldwide and within every region of the United
States.
What is
Gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a curable sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by
bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These bacteria can infect
the genital tract, mouth, and rectum of both men and women.
In women, the opening to the uterus, the cervix, is the first place of
infection. The disease can spread into the uterus and fallopian tubes,
resulting in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID affects more than 1
million women in this country every year and can cause tubal (ectopic)
pregnancy and infertility in as many as 10 percent of infected women.
In 2002, 351,852 cases of gonorrhea were reported to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the United States, approximately
75 percent of all reported cases of gonorrhea are found in people aged 15
to 29 years. The highest rates of infection are usually found in 15- to
19-year old women and 20- to 24-year-old men.
What is Chronic
Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a
serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver. The virus, which
is called hepatitis B virus (HBV), can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis
(scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure, and death. Hepatitis
B vaccine is available for all age groups to prevent hepatitis B virus
infection.
What is
Chronic Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a
disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). You may be at
risk for hepatitis C and should contact your medical care provider for a
blood test if you:
- were notified that
you received blood from a donor who later tested positive for hepatitis
C.
- have ever injected
illegal drugs, even if you experimented a few times many years ago
- received a blood
transfusion or solid organ transplant before July, 1992
- were a
recipient of clotting factor(s) made before 1987
- have ever been on
long-term kidney dialysis
- have evidence of
liver disease (e.g., persistently abnormal ALT levels)
What is Viral Meningitis?
Meningitis
is an illness in which there is inflammation of the tissues that cover the
brain and spinal cord. Viral or "aseptic" meningitis, which is the most
common type, is caused by an infection with one of several types of
viruses. Meningitis can also be caused by infections with several types of
bacteria or fungi. In the United States, there are between 25,000 and
50,000 hospitalizations due to viral meningitis each year.
What is Pertussis?
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is an infection of the
respiratory system caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis
(or B. pertussis). It's characterized by severe
coughing spells that end in a "whooping" sound when the person
breathes in.
Although pertussis can occur at any age, it's most severe in
unimmunized children and in infants under 1 year of age (early
immunization can usually prevent this serious disease in babies). About
40% of all pertussis infections occur in children less than 1 year old,
and only 15% occur in children over 15 years old. Half of all deaths from
pertussis occur in infants under age 1, and serious complications are more
common in this group.
The incidence of pertussis among adolescents and adults has been
increasing in the last several years. This is an important fact, because
coughing adolescents and adults who may not realize that they have
pertussis are currently the major source of infection for infants and
children.
What is
PID?
| pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), an infection of
the upper genital tract. PID can affect the uterus, ovaries, fallopian
tubes, or other related structures. Untreated, PID causes scarring and
can lead to infertility, tubal pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, and
other serious consequences.
Each year in the United States, more than 1 million women
experience an episode of acute PID, with the rate of infection highest
among teenagers. More than 100,000 women become infertile each year as
a result of PID, and a large proportion of the 70,000 ectopic (tubal)
pregnancies occurring every year are due to the consequences of PID.
In 1997 alone, an estimated $7 billion was spent on PID and its
complications.
What is Salmonellosis?
Salmonellosis is a foodborne illness caused by the bacteria
salmonella. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps,
diarrhea (sometimes bloody), fever, and headache.
Salmonella are bacteria that cause an infection of the
gastrointestinal system in humans. The bacteria can be found in water,
soil, kitchen surfaces, animal feces, raw meats, poultry, and eggs.
The disease is usually limited to the intestinal tract, but the
salmonella organisms can spread to other parts of the body, such as
blood or bone. Salmonella can cause typhoid fever, the symptoms of
which include fever, abdominal pain, headache, malaise, lethargy, skin
rash, constipation, and delirium.
Salmonella is usually transmitted to humans by foods contaminated
with animal feces. Contaminated foods usually do not look or smell
unusual. Food may also become contaminated by an infected food handler
who neglected to wash his hands after using the bathroom.
What is Shigellosis?
Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria
called Shigella. Most who are infected with Shigella
develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps starting a day or two
after they are exposed to the bacterium. The diarrhea is often bloody.
Shigellosis usually resolves in 5 to 7 days. In some persons,
especially young children and the elderly, the diarrhea can be so
severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. A severe infection
with high fever may also be associated with seizures in children less
than 2 years old. Some persons who are infected may have no symptoms
at all, but may still pass the Shigella bacteria to others.
What is Infectious Syphilis?
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the
bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called “the
great imitator” because so many of the signs and symptoms are
indistinguishable from those of other diseases.
In the United
States, health officials reported over 32,000 cases of syphilis in
2002, including 6,862 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis.
In 2002, half of all P&S syphilis cases were reported from 16 counties
and 1 city; and most P&S syphilis cases occurred in persons 20 to 39
years of age. The incidence of infectious syphilis was highest in
women 20 to 24 years of age and in men 35 to 39 years of age.
Over the past
several years, increases in syphilis among MSM (men having sex with
men) have been reported in various cities and areas, including
Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California, Miami, and New
York City. In the recent outbreaks, high rates of HIV co-infection
were documented, ranging from 20 percent to 70 percent. While the
health problems caused by syphilis in adults are serious in their own
right, it is now known that the genital sores caused by syphilis in
adults also make it easier to transmit and acquire HIV infection
sexually.
What is Active
Tuberculosis?
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a
rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disseminated disease but is most
frequently associated with pulmonary infections. The bacilli are
transmitted by the airborne route and, depending on host factors, may
lead to active disease. Tuberculosis (TB) can usually be treated
successfully with multiple medications.
Occurrence:
In many other countries, TB is much more common
than in the United States, and it is an increasingly serious public
health problem.
Risk for Travelers:
To become infected, a person usually would have
to spend a relatively long time in a closed environment where the air
was contaminated by a person with untreated TB who was coughing and
who had numerous M. tuberculosis organisms (or tubercle
bacilli) in secretions from the lungs. TB infection is generally
transmitted through the air; therefore, there is virtually no danger
of its being spread by dishes, linens, and items that are touched, or
by most food products. However, it can be transmitted through
unpasteurized milk or milk products obtained from infected cattle.
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