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Wed, 2 Dec 03:18:55 GMT17

 
FACTSHEET: Infectious diseases in the news

From bird flu to SARS, AlertNet provides key facts on diseases grabbing headline around the world.

Bird flu
Officially known as the H5N1 virus, a lethal avian influenza that has killed about 50 people in Asia, costing the region billions of dollars and threatening to unleash a global flu pandemic that experts say could claim the lives of millions.


  • Chances of global pandemic depend on virus mutating into more contagious form more easily transmissible between humans.
  • In 1997, first case of bird flu spread from a bird to a human during an outbreak among poultry in Hong Kong. First human-to-human transmission recorded in September 2004 in Thailand.
  • H5N1 first discovered in terns in South Africa in 1961. Has since spread around the world, affecting poultry in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
  • Tens of millions of chickens and other birds have been destroyed across Asia in bid to stem disease.




    Kala-azar

    Also known as leishmaniasis and black fever. A disfiguring parasitic disease found in 88 countries and transmitted by female sandfly. Dogs and rats are main carriers. Fatal if untreated.

  • Visceral leishmaniasis - the most lethal form - endemic in Bangladesh, Nepal and India. More than 20 percent of world's cases occur in three Indian states, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
  • Erupted in April 2004 in Iraq, where known locally as "Baghdad sore". Also found in Americas from Texas to Argentina and North Africa.
  • About 2 million new cases reported each year worldwide.





    Elephantiasis
    Also known as Lymphatic Filariasis. More than 1 billion people in about 80 countries at risk, and 40 million people seriously affected or disfigured by the disease. Transmitted by mosquitoes.



  • Lymphatic Filariasis can cause enlargement of entire legs or arms, genitals, vulva and breasts. Kidneys and lymphatic system also at risk.
  • One-third of people infected live in India, one-third in Africa and most of rest in other parts of South Asia, Pacific and Americas.




    Marburg haemorrhagic fever
    Highly fatal Marburg virus from same family as Ebola. No vaccine or specific treatment. Starts with headache, fever, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea and vomiting. In fatal cases, five to seven days after infection patients experience high fever and bleeding from nose, gums and other parts of body. Transmitted through contact with blood or other body fluids.



  • Angola now experiencing worst-ever Marburg outbreak, with more than 230 people killed, mostly children.
  • First detected in Germany and Yugoslavia in 1967 when workers handling green monkeys from Uganda contracted the virus.
  • Outbreaks have also occurred in Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo.




    Polio
    Polio virus mainly affects children under five. Attacks nervous system and can cause permanent paralysis, usually in legs. No cure, but vaccines can protect children for life.



  • The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has been largely successful, with cases falling to fewer than 800 in 2003 from 350,000 in 1988.
  • But new cases on the rise. An outbreak in Nigeria in 2004 spread to 12 countries that were previously polio-free.
  • Polio remains endemic in northern India, northern Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Niger.
  • The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made a new pledge to stop spread of polio by the end of 2005.





    SARS
    Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. First known case occurred in Guangdong province, China, in November 2002 and extended to some two-dozen countries in Asia, North America and Europe. Highly contagious. And spread by person-to-person contact.

  • SARS infected over 8,000 people and killed 774 before outbreak was contained in 2003. Most victims were previously healthy adults, aged 25-70 years.
  • International community monitored handful of SARS cases in China in 2004, but there has not been another major outbreak.



    Read more:

  • Don't let new viruses distract from old killers-UN
  • FACTSHEET: Top killer diseases in the developing world
  • Failure to adopt new drugs fuels rise of malaria
  • GRAPHIC: Killer diseases in the developing world
  • PHOTOS: Infectious diseases ravage poor countries
  • NGO PHOTOS: On the frontline in the war against diseases
  • TIP SHEET: Precautions for travellers in disease zones
  • Low-profile killers need AIDS cash, experts warn
  • Scientists urge more attention to Chagas disease
  • Posters give health tips in refugee camps
  • EYEWITNESS: Iraq's children die of curable kala azar
  • Africa's real killer diseases win little publicity
  • Brazil fights to lower leprosy rate
  • The AlertNet Challenge - Infectious diseases special


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