Tuberculosis remains a major killer in the world, killing over 1 million yearly and infecting at least one-third of the entire world population. TB is especially prevalent in developing nations, but it also remains an active disease in the United States as well, with almost 10,000 reported infections in 2013 alone. While tuberculosis infections are on the decline, it remains a disease worth preventing.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Cytomegalovirus, commonly known by its initials as CMV, is a very common viral infection that can occur in anyone of any gender, race, or socioeconomic class. It is often a disease of childhood with the majority of people being infected when they are children age 6 or under. Most people who have CMV …
Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) was once a relatively common source of infection and disease in the United States, especially in the western half of the United States, with a handful of western states accounting for almost all infections. This profile radically changed with the introduction of the two dose Hepatitis A …
Blood-Borne Pathogens While there are multiple pathogenic organisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other more exotic organisms such as prions, that could potentially be transmitted from an infected person to uninfected people through blood contact, the term Blood-Borne Pathogens is most commonly used to refer to the “Big 3,” by which is meant Hepatitis B …
Ebola has been in the news a great deal lately, and that makes sense because it is always big news when this particularly scary virus makes an appearance. Yes, it can be deadly and many people in an isolated part of the world have contracted it. And yes, there is now a case contracted right …
The vaccinia virus was once very common in the United States and then for many years it became essentially unheard of. Now, the occurrence of vaccinia infection is increasing once again, although still rare, it is now known to occur primarily in the families and intimate contacts of members of the military and other emergency …
The respiratory syncytial virus, more easily known as RSV, is a very common virus that infects and sickens people, usually the very young and, as is increasingly recognized, also the elderly. Most infected people will not be able to distinguish RSV infection from the common cold, but in some cases, especially among premature infants, RSV …
As is often the case with microorganisms, and the diseases or infections they can cause, it is important to be specific in our language and our understanding to avoid making embarrassing, or even dangerous, errors in judgment and assumption. This can be particularly true in the case of the herpes viruses, which have a rather …
“Influenza” is a generic term that describes a large host of variant viruses that are closely related. These viruses are not differentiated, as bacteria are, by genus and species but rather through a complex naming process that first distinguishes between the three major types of influenza viruses, either A, B, or C, and then the …
Staphylococcus is the genus name of a very large group of closely related bacteria, some of which are commonly found on and in the human body, and some of these bacteria are notorious causes of infection and disease. Among the most common of these bacteria that are capable of causing disease are Staphylococcus aureus and …