Anthrax to the Ebola virus: five conditions you should try and avoid

Very rarely do people actually want to catch diseases, and we at JOE, being no different, have compiled five you should try to avoid getting.

By Conor Hogan

1. Anthrax

This lethal disease is caused by bacteria called bacillus anthracis (pictured above) and affects both humans and animals. It is a very old condition, and is thought to be the fifth plague in the Book of Exodus, which exterminated Egyptian livestock such as horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats.

What are the symptoms?

There are three types of anthrax – cutaneous anthrax, gastrointestinal anthrax and pulmonary anthrax. For the first, you develop blistering sores that swell up to an ulcer with a black scab in the middle of it. The ulcer will be painless. In the second type, you will vomit blood, have violently bloody diarrhoea, your intestinal tract will inflame and will lose your appetite. The early signs of pulmonary anthrax, meanwhile, are cold and flu like symptoms, before a severe respiratory collapse occurs.

How do I get it?

Gastrointestinal anthrax is normally caused by ingestion of undercooked anthrax-infested meat. A pulmonary anthrax infection is caused by the inhalation of between 10,000 and 20,000 anthrax spores. This form would be the type caught from a biological weapon. Cutaneous anthrax is caused by exposure to infected animals, especially dead ones.

Will I die?

Historically, pulmonary anthrax has had a 95% mortality rate, but with quick treatment, as in the October 2001 terrorist attack in the United States, it can be lowered to 45%. The chances of survival for gastrointestinal anthrax are 25%, while for the cutaneous form the chances are 80%.

The treatment

A two-month course of antibiotics such as penicillin or ciprofloxacin.

2. Babesiosis

This is an infection of the red blood cells named Babesia microti that's similar to malaria. It is most common in the United States, and particularly in the northeast, though cases have been reported in Mexico, Eastern Europe, the UK and here in Ireland.

What are the symptoms?

You might feel fatigued, sweat profusely, suffer from a poor appetite, headaches, fevers, and aching muscles. These can last several months.

How do I get it?

It is generally contracted from the bite of infected deer-ticks, which grip themselves onto the skin of humans, and mostly stay between fingers, in the back of knees, underneath arms or in other sheltered areas.

Will I die?

Probably not, though it is known to be fatal, especially among older people. It causes a dramatic drop in blood pressure, and can cause liver problems, anaemia and total kidney failure.

The treatment:

No vaccine is available but an anti-parasitic drug is known to be successful. Most people will recover without treatment, however.

3. Chagas disease

Named after Carlos Chagas (pictured below) who discovered it in 1909, Chagas disease is tropical parasitic disease that affects an estimate eight to 11 million people in the Americas, most of whom don’t know that they have it.

How do I get it?

It is transmitted either through insect vectors, blood-sucking kissing bugs, blood transfusion, organ transplant , from a mother to her foetus or from eating food containing parasites.

What are the symptoms?

Usually, people develop a sore where the parasite entered their body. If the parasite enters near the eye, then that eye will swell up. You will probably get a fever and then lymphadenopathy which is the swelling of the small ball-shaped organs in the immune system called lymph nodes.

Over several years, the parasite will enter most of your organs and will cause severe problems to your intestines, lungs and heart.

Will I die?

If you don’t die from the early stages of contracting it, there is a 30% chance you will develop chronic problems.

The treatment

The only treatment is in the early phase, with the anti-parasitic drug benzbidazole.

4. Dysentery

This is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, particularly the colon, than can range from mild to dangerous in severity. It occurs less frequently in developed countries. Medical missionary David Livingstone (below) suffered from it.

What are the symptoms?

You will have bouts of violent diarrhoea, nausea, fevers, pain in your rectum and severe stomach cramps. Sometimes the sufferer may get blood poisoning, seizures, infections of the liver, ulcers in their intestines or their kidneys may fail.

Will I die?

Between five and 15% of people will die. Rarely will you die in the developed world, however. The main danger is dehydration.

The treatment

Anti-diarrhoea products should be avoided. Oral hydration treatment usually works, though sometimes intravenous fluid replacement is necessary.

5. Ebola Haemorrhagic fever

It is one of the five recognised species of the Ebola virus, and it is named after the Ebola river in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) where the first outbreak occurred in 1976 at a mission run by Belgian nuns. The disease was featured in the 1995 disaster movie Outbreak starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman.

What are the symptoms:

You initially suffer from a severe lethargy and your muscles will ache. You will probably have a throat ache or a headache. Vomiting will occur as well as bouts of diarrhoea. A bloody haemorrhaging rash will break out over every inch of your body. The tract of your stomach and intestines will start bleeding – blood will come out your mouth and blood and the lining of your intestines will come out your anus.

How do I get it?

By coming into contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected people or animals, most commonly primates. Bats are crafty little feckers that you should look out for too - they are carriers but not affected by the disease.

Will I die?

More than likely. Its fatality rate is over 90%. Most people die from shock, while others bleed to death.

The treatment

There isn’t any. Sorry.