Clinical infectious diseases are harmful pathogens that spread throughout the body. These pathogenic agents consist of parasites, viruses and bacteria and create communicable diseases in humans and animals. Infectious diseases are transmitted several ways including contact from one person to another, airborne germs and bodily fluids.
The most common ways in which doctors diagnose clinical infectious diseases are by examining the person and getting a medical summary of their symptoms. Certain conditions like respiratory diseases often present similar ailments so physicians have to perform a bacterial test to identify the illness. Doctors do this by taking a swab sample from the patient’s throat or nose. The culture is sent to a laboratory to be tested for diseases such as influenza or strep throat.
Another method used to determine what kind of clinical infectious disease exists is by having the patient get an x-ray or lumbar puncture. Pathologists check these tests for abnormal growths that are present in diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and meningitis. Both of these diseases are highly contagious and aggressive and can be deadly if not treated.
Treatment varies for clinical infectious diseases but the most common type of treatment is medication for the symptoms of the disease. Some diseases are also preventable with vaccinations, such as measles and chickenpox. Other diseases that spread rapidly, such as TB, require treatment in the form of medication and a quarantine period until the symptoms are gone.
Unfortunately, not all clinical infectious diseases have a cure yet and doctors can only treat a patient after the signs of the disease have started to show. One of the pandemic infectious diseases is Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which is spread by bodily fluids. Doctors have to make clinical decisions for each patient based on their medical history and stage of disease. Some HIV patients respond well to medication but others do not and their health quickly deteriorates. Since the HIV virus causes the body to have difficulty healing, patients often develop other chronic medical conditions.
Doctors have recently discovered a vaccination for malaria, a deadly clinical infectious disease. Malaria, which is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes, kills roughly one million people a year. In addition, it infects about 250 million people annually in the world. Children and pregnant women are at greater risk of getting malaria and are advised not to travel to tropical areas during mosquito season.
People with weakened immunity systems are more susceptible when exposed to clinical infectious diseases. Scientists tell everyone to use common sense to prevent getting sick. Basic tips include covering your mouth when sneezing or coughing, not drinking or eating after someone and practicing proper hygiene methods. It also highly recommended to avoid unprotected contact with someone else’s bodily fluids.
