Disease
Diseases pose a great threat to your health. Learn how to avoid diseases, since in the wild, many are hard to treat. Some common diseases include:
- Cryptococcosis: caused by breathing in fungus Cryptococcus gatti or Cryptococus neoformans; symptoms include blurred vision, chest pain, fatigue, fever, headache, nausea; treated with antifungals (amphotericin B, flucytosine, fluconazole)
- Dysentery: 2 types, bacterial (bacteria Shigella,Campylobacter, E. coli, or Salmonella) or amoebic (protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica); caused by drinking infected water; symptoms include diarrhea and infection of the colon; treated with rehydration and antibiotics (metronidazole, diloxanide furoate, paromomycin, iodoquinol)
- Giardiasis: caused by parasite Giardia lamblia in water; symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal cramps; treated with antibiotics (metronidazole, tinidazole); possibly treated with garlic
- Hookworms: caused by drinking water infected with larvae or directly through skin; adult worms lodge in intestines, causing anemia, lethargy, and pneumonia; treated with anthelmintics (albendazole, mebendazole, pyrantel pamoate); possibly treated with garlic
- Leptospirosis: caused by contact with waste of animals infected with bacteria Leptospira interrogans; symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, meningitis, kidney failure, hemorrhage, possible death; treated with antibiotics (like penicillin) given early in the course of the disease
- Rabies: caused by virus transmitted through saliva of infected animal; symptoms include fever, headache, insomnia, anxiety, paralysis, hallucinations, hydrophobia, eventually leading to death within a week; must be treated immediately through vaccines