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When a respiratory virus infects the lungs, every cough or sneeze may release air-borne droplets containing infective viruses. Once a person is infected, they can display symptoms ranging from a mild flu-like disease to a severe case of infection. Typical symptoms reported are fever, a dry cough, muscle pain, fatigue and in severe cases, difficulty …
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HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that left untreated may lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. Unlike some other viruses, even with treatment some people infected with HIV may never eliminate the virus. In an animal model of HIV, within 24 hours of infection, the virus hitches a ride on immune cells and travels …
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According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Lyme disease is the fastest growing vector-borne, infectious disease in the United States with a 25 fold increase in the number of cases since surveillance of the disease began in 1982. World-wide, there are over 300 strains of these bacteria, many of which tolerate antibiotics and are …
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this flu season is an unusually severe outbreak with wide-spread instances of disease in 49 States with many schools being closed. The season started earlier than usual, which is never a good sign.   CDC Deputy Director Anne Schuchat has said “This year’s influenza season is …
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As of this writing, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta is strongly recommending that pregnant woman postpone travel to many countries across the world, including the popular Caribbean islands.  The CDC is taking these steps due to the possibility that these women may become are infected with a mosquito borne virus called Zika.  …
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One of the major complaints that people have is that “they are always tired”. “They just do not care anymore, they are just too tired.” [Kindly view a post that is relevant to this subject: Depression, Anhedonia and Run-Away Inflammation.] In the past, scientists thought that there was a blood-brain barrier that “isolated” the brain …
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Delirium is an under-reported condition that may affect up to 56% of older individuals after surgery, patients that have been heavily sedated for a length of time, burn, cancer, and patients on ventilators for long periods. Patients experience vivid hallucinations that may be part of a vicious cycle if doctors attempt to control the delusions …
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Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral disease of the lungs that was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has now spread to several other countries, including South Korea and the United States. Genetic material isolated from an individual that died of MERS was identical to genetic material found in one of …
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Borrelia burgdorferi, is a bacterial infection that results from an infected tick, originally from mammals or birds, biting and injecting the microorganism into a human host. Individuals treated early in infection are likely to recover completely; however, delaying treatment may result in long recovery times, or result in disease that will last for years, or …
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The act of conceiving, getting pregnant, requires many steps among which are: release of an egg from a follicle (ovulation), fertilization of the egg by sperm, transport of the egg through the Fallopian tubes to the uterus, and attachment to the uterine wall, (implantation). Each step to becoming pregnant must occur in the right order …
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During the 1970′s and 80′s, the saga of the “boy in the bubble” was followed with great interest. David Vetter, a young Texas boy had severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a disease caused by life-threatening defects in his immune system. His immune system was unable to protect him from infection, resulting in the necessity of having …
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Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. As of this post, the virus has spread through many African nations, and is the worst Ebola outbreak every recorded. The virus has infected over 1200 people and abuot 60% of these individuals have died from the …
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Nearly every day people tell me that their joints are swollen and stiff, they hurt all over, and that they look and feel older than their chronological age. Most of these individuals have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis is a sign of a “boosted” immune system with excessive inflammation leading to joint damage. People …
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People who are heavy and are not physically active, are at greater risk for conditions such as: increased blood sugar, higher pressures on their artery walls (high blood pressure), increased rate and workload on the heart, stroke, joint problems, sleep disorders, difficulty breathing, and even certain types of  cancer. There are other posts on this …
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Over the last 18 months, at least 25 children have been affected in the California area by a “polio-like” illness resulting in partial paralysis of five of the children.  As of this week, two out of five of these children have tested positive for enterovirus.  According to the news media, Australia and Asia have also …
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People often ask how they ended up getting an autoimmune disease, a condition in which their own immune system turns on themselves and destroys healthy by-stander tissues and organs. My response-the not-yet-proven-hypothesis that molecular mimicry results in autoimmune disease. Molecular mimicry is a phenomenon in which tissues in the body share a “barcode”, antigenic receptors,  …
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Healthcare-associated infections (HAI), nosocomial infections, are caused by a wide variety of bacteria, fungi, and viruses.  One bacterium that commonly causes illness is Clostridium difficile, or C. difficile.  Hospitalized children and elderly people are at special risk of acquiring these bacteria, infections that result in severe diarrhea.  Individuals infected with C. difficile are more likely …
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The Centers for Disease Control is investigating at least 100 reports of food poisoning, and 18 deaths, due to contaminated cantaloupes. DNA isolated from infected individuals has determined that Listeria is the responsible bacteria. Ninety-eight percent of 93 individuals contacted by monitoring agencies were hospitalized due to their infections. Because of lag times between consumption …
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Many more bacterial genes than human genes are found in the body. Samples from 124 healthy Europeans found on average more than 530,000 unique genes in each sample and 99.1% were from bacteria. These bacteria live symbiotically, on, or in, our bodies. While we provide them with food and lodging, they help us stay healthy …
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Dengue fever is caused by a virus that is carried by an infected female Aedes mosquito (called a vector) that injects the virus into a human while she is drawing her blood meal, a meal that she needs in order to reproduce. Over 50 million people, in over 100 countries, are infected every year with …
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