High-grade Fever with Pain in Tummy and Vomiting: May be Typhoid

Cases of typhoid fever are up during rainy season due to poor public health measures. Sanitation-wise filthy cities, uncovered and unwashed food stuffs are hazardous for travelers since typhoid infection is food borne. Typhoid fever is caused by bacteria known as Salmonella typhi or Salmonella paratyphi. There are two strains of Salmonella paratyphi, known as Salmonella paratyphi-A & Salmonella paratyphi-B. High-grade fever with pain in tummy associated with vomiting may be typhoid. Fever may rise upto 106^o F creating a scare in the family but never panic and call a physician or take the patient to the hospital. For an accurate diagnosis, germs of typhoid can be grown from the blood (Blood Culture Test) of the patient. However, there are some viral fevers which may mimic the symptoms of typhoid. If untreated, typhoid may lead to dire complications like perforation of intestine, hemorrhage (bleeding) and sudden bacterial shock. My contention is not to horrify people by citing the manifestations of this disease but spread awareness about prevention and timely treatment of it.

Science has enabled us to diagnose and treat typhoid effectively with antibiotics. Patient may be treated at home or at a hospital. But complete course of the recommended antibiotics should be taken to avoid relapse. Other members of Salmonella family (Salmonella paratyphi-A & Salmonella paratyphi-B) producing paratyphoid fevers and food-poisoning can also be treated well with antibiotics. Bacteria of Salmonella family are facultative bacteria and carriers of the disease continue passing the germs in their stool and urine.

Prevention is always better than cure and till we catch-up on community prevention; individual prophylaxis has to be very tight through vaccination. TAB vaccine is used worldwide to acquire protection against bacteria of Salmonella family. A variety of antibiotics are available to treat typhoid fever. Many countries have eradicated indigenous typhoid through meticulous and efficient public health measures. However, people traveling abroad are advised to get shots of TAB vaccine and cholera vaccine.

Rabies: Signs and Symptoms in Animals and Human Beings

Rabies is a disease, which man acquires from vertebrate animals. The disease is caused by a virus infecting the nervous tissue. Rabies causes 100% mortality if the human beings bitten by rabid animal and are not adequately vaccinated. Rabies is a disease of antiquity, having been known to mankind probably earlier than 2000 BC. Clinically, in both animals and man, rabies can manifest either in the form of hyperactivity (furious rabies) or paralysis (paralytic or dumb rabies). Human beings if not given prophylactic vaccination after animal bite always develop furious type rabies, whereas around 25% of dogs develop furious type rabies. Excessive salivation and lacrimation may also be present in affected animals and human beings. Hydrophobia (fear from water) may also be present in majority of the cases. No drugs work after the development of symptoms of rabies and patients lapse into coma and die. Millions of people are treated worldwide with post bite prophylactic vaccination for suspected rabid dog bites, every year.

The great Louis Pasteur was the first authority to make rabies vaccine by inactivating rabies virus obtained from the spinal cord of infected rabbit. The 'old stock vaccine' is made from the monkey's nervous tissue and 12 to 14 injections of this vaccine are required for 100% protection. Almost half of people vaccinated with 'old stock vaccine' may have appreciable local side effects and only 5 in 10,000 may have serious side effects. The latest anti-rabies vaccines have minimal side effects. The Purified Chick Embryo Cell (PCEC) and Human Diploid Cell (HDC) vaccines give 100% protection not only to those who are bitten by rabid dogs but also to those who work with rabies virus and handle reservoir animals. All vaccines are easily available worldwide at reasonable rates. Neurological complications may develop in persons vaccinated with 'old stock vaccine'.

Incubation Period: The incubation period of rabies disease is usually between one and two months. In extreme cases incubation period may be a few days or rarely, even years. The site of the bite is indicative in determining the length of incubation period. Infants and children have a shorter incubation period than adults. Restlessness, agitation, excitation, confusion, muscle spasms, hallucinations, thought disorders and hydrophobia are common signs of possibility of development of rabies in person infected with rabies virus.

Diagnosis: The diagnosis of rabies in animals is made by microscopic examination of stained brain smears or histological sections for Negri bodies. The biological test for rabies is intra-cerebral inoculation of mice with the nervous tissue squash of animals or body secretions of infected human beings and isolation of virus from inoculated mice after an incubation period of 1-2 weeks. In human beings the rabies virus can directly be isolated from saliva, urine and cerebrospinal fluid, and revealed by electron microscopic study.

Eat Less And Live Longer Than Expected

The quality of life is most important aspect of our life. It is a proven fact that if we eat less, we would definitely live longer than expected. The average life expectancy is around 70 years but health fitness and mobility is important to cherish the comforts of life. Human body is like an industrial town capable of processing and synthesizing a number of products for the propagation of life and heath. Each organ in our body has been assigned a particular function required to be performed for maintaining homeostasis. Proper vaccination is the very first important responsibility in life to save ourselves from infectious diseases. If you are adequately immunized only then you could think of the measures for improving your life expectancy.

Regular exercise and diet control minimize load on our organs and this way retard the aging process. The less we eat the less will be the requirement of digestive juices or enzymes for digestion; so our organs would not be exhausting in their respective actions. In this way we conserve the potency of our internal organs which leads to longevity. Brisk walking and cycling could be the best choice for exercise as it does not involve major expenditure and good for all age groups. The strategy of eating less is also known as calorie restriction protocol. Intake of low calorie diet in rats has shown marvelous results it terms of longevity and reduction in susceptibility to diseases like diabetes and cancer and controlling obesity. Optimal nutrition is must for all but calorie restriction protocol advocates the need to eat less, in the range of 25 to 40 percent less than what your body needs daily as per your body mass. As a rough estimate an adult needs 1800 to 2000 calories daily and 25 percent of the same would be 1350 to 1500 calories.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are a rich source of low calorie diet with high fibre content. Fruits and vegetables contain hundreds of known and unknown substances capable of protecting us from cancer and premature aging. Almost all fruits contain vitamin C, an antioxidant and immunopotentiator. Pomegranates are rich in antioxidant and immunopotentiator substances. Antioxidants reduce inflammation and the risk of heart disease. Tomatoes must be included in your daily diet. Tomatoes contain a substance called lycopene which has anti cancer properties. Tomatoes are also a rich source of vitamins A, C and E and potassium. Eat less, sleep well, exercise regularly and care your body to live longer than expected. Health awareness is a key to fitness and longevity.