Whooping Cough

What is Whooping Cough?

Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is a both a very highly contagious and transmittable disease, especially in children. Before the vaccine was created, which will be mentioned below, it is extremely dangerous for children and possibly fatal for babies because the coughing can mess up the breathing pattern of children. Statistics aren't clear, but it is estimated that 10000-50000 people catch whooping cough every and 20 babies die from it every year. 

Symptoms:

- Fever

- Runny Nose

- Nasal Congestion

- Red eyes

- Cough

- Vomiting

- Red-ish Face

- Blue-ish Face

- Fatigueness

- "Whoop" at the end of breath

Transmission:

Whooping cough is spread airborne, and is very contagious. If someone's bodily fluids like saliva gets into an individual's nose, mouth or eyes, it can be spread. Symptoms usually worsen 2 weeks after of contracting the disease, and it is contagious even 2 weeks after symptoms start.

Treatment:

Antibiotics are usually the treatment because Pertussis is a bacteria.

Prevention:

Taking the vaccine will lower your chance of catching Whooping Cough by a lot. However, nothing is 100% effective, and you still have to be careful around sick people.

Flu

 What is Flu?

The influenza, commonly known as the flu, is caused by the influenza virus. It is a highly infectious disease, and every year, an estimated billion people gets the flu, and effects can be very mild or very severe. An estimated 4 million people are severely affected, and 400000 die. However, unlike other viruses, flu have small mutation fairly quickly and very easily, making them change every year and hard to control. On the bright side, in recent years, due to technological advancements, scientists have been able to estimate changes in the virus and create vaccines accordingly to keep up and slowdown the virus. Other than that, there are 4 strains of Influenza, which scientists also have to estimate in their researches.

Types of Influenza:

- Type A - Most common type and can cause pandemic/epidemic

- Type B - Less severe than Type A and cannot cause pandemic/epidemic but can still be severe

- Type C - Extremely mild influenza that rarely affects people

- Type D - Do not affect humans

Symptoms:

- Sneezing 

- Coughing

- Sore Throat

- Runny Nose

- Fever

- Fatigue

- Gastrointestinal symptoms

Transmission:

Flu is highly transmissible because it can be transmitted through air. If a droplet from a sneeze or cough enters your mouth, nose or eyes, you can be easily infected. It can also be transmitted through direct contact, even though it is a little less common. Other than that, there are flu seasons, which is around October to February, because of the temperature.

Past Flu Epidemics/Pandemics:

- Asiatic/Russian Flu 1889-1890

- Spanish Flu 1918 (H1N1)

- Asian Flu 1957 (H2N2)

- Hong Kong Flu 1968 (H3N2)

- Swine Flu 2009 (H1N1)

Prevention:

TAKE THE FLU SHOT!!!

Treatment:

Resting and taking care of yourself is usually the "treatment" for flu, but if you have a serious case, go see a doctor and they may give you antiviral drugs.

Smallpox

 What is Smallpox?

Smallpox, caused by the Variola virus, is an extremely dangerous and easily transmittable disease that had been eradicated in 1980, with the last known case to be in October 1977. The diseases can be caused by two variants by Variola - Variola Major and Variola minor. Rashes and blisters filled with fluids form on mainly the limbs and the face, and it falls off after, leaving scars all over the patient's face. The death rate was also 30%, which was fairly high, and because of its easy transmission, it was feared over 3000 years, since the ancient Egyptians. But as said above, the virus was eradicated in 1980 by the smallpox vaccine, which was first introduced in 1796.

Symptoms:

First Symptoms:

- High Fever

- Fatigue/Tiredness

- Vomiting

- Diarrhea

- Severe Back Pain

Later Symptoms:

- Rashes on Face, Hands, Legs and Body

- Skin Lesions

- Bumps with clear liquid and pus

Transmission:

Smallpox is an airborne virus. Coughing, sneezing or direct contact with the fluids from the bumps can easily transmit the virus, which is why so many people got it.

Treatment:

Recently in 2018, scientists have found a drug - tecovirimat - which can stop variola growth, but before it was eradicated, the virus could only be treated with intensive care and it still left scars on the victims' faces.

Prevention:

The smallpox vaccine successfully stopped and eradicated the virus. Freeze dried calf lymph vaccine administered with a bifurcated needle is the oldest smallpox vaccine and had been used in the U.S. until 2008, where it was replaced by other new smallpox vaccines such as ACAM2000.