For this assignment i did top 5 infectious diseases in Salt Lake County. I talked to Pete Stewart who is a registered nurse at the Salt Lake Health Department and this is what he told me:
1. Chlamydia is the top infectious disease by far, in September they had 172 cases of it. Chlamydia is and STI and has many side effects. Some effects are burning during urination or liver inflation similar to hepatitis. It is far and away the biggest problem in salt lake county. The way you treat it is with antibiotics such as tetracyclines or azithromycin. Proper use of protection is one way to prevent this disease.
2. Gonorrhea is the second most infectious disease in Salt Lake County. It is another case of an STI and has some side effects as well. Burning or pain when urinating, increased urine frequency, fever, sore throat and more. It can be quickly identified by taking a sample tissue from throat or genital areas and looking at it underneath a microscope. Half of women that have this also are infected with chlamydia. Complications of this disease that may occur are infertility, joint infections, heart valve infections, and meningitis.
3. Cyptosporidiosis is the third most infectious disease in Salt Lake County. It is an infection of the small intestine with the parasite Cryptosporidium that causes diarrhea. It has a major impact on those with suppressed immune systems such as those with hiv/aid, transplant recipients or those who take medicine to suppress it. Sypmtoms are abdominal cramping, diarrhea, nausea and malaise. A huge risk factor of getting this is swallowing water with feces in it. To test if they have it, they test the patients stool for Cryptosporidium. Biggest way to prevent this is be sanitary in everything you do.
4. Campylobacteriosis is the fourth most infectious disease found in Salt Lake County. It is an infection by campylobacter bacterium. In the united states, this is the number one reason for gastrointestinal illness from food. It can be transmitted by consuming contaminated food or contact with the bacterium. Some symptoms are fever, headache, and myalgias. For treatment you take antibiotics such as Erythromycin can be used in children, and Tetracycline in adults. To prevent, be sanitary don't drink unpasteurized milk, separate cutting boards for different foods.
5. Giardiasas or beaver fever is the fifth most infectious disease found in Salt Lake County. It is currently effecting 200 million people worldwide. It is transmitted through the fecal-oral route. It's a common cause of gastroenteritis. Symptoms include loss of appetite, diarrhea, hematuria (blood in urine), loose or watery stool, stomach cramps, upset stomach, projectile vomiting (uncommon), bloating, flatulence, and burping (often sulphurous). You use antibiotics to treat this but treatment is not always needed, the body can beat this by itself. Prevention is sanitation.
No comments:
Post a Comment