Many of us would waive an article of immunisation as irrelevant to us — the educated, fairly affluent members of the world community. And yet, our own personal experience has shown that even educated parents often ignore new vaccines, unaware how critical they can be to their child’s health. In today’s age, when we see… [ Continue Reading ]
A baby weighs about three kilograms at birth, and loses 150-200 g in the first three to four days. After that he grows rapidly and gains about 25 to 30 g a day for the first three months and a little less rapidly after that. The widely accepted formula that a baby doubles his birth… [ Continue Reading ]
Dengue is caused by a virus which is usually transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes and could lead attacks in three forms. Classical dengue fever Dengue haemorrhagic fever with shock. Dengue haemorrhagic fever without shock. Dengue epidemics, which have affected more than 100 countries all over the world, happen in overcrowded urban… [ Continue Reading ]
Probably the oldest disease known to mankind, leprosy, known as kustha rog in Hindi, is attributed to a curse. A leper is considered the cursed one mainly because of the deformities it can cause. Though it has been wiped out from most parts of the world, it continues to be a major health hazard in… [ Continue Reading ]
Your child has been crying nonstop and running a temperature through the night. You try desperately to pacify her and wonder what could be wrong. Oh yes! Realisation dawns on you. She was given a dose of the DPT vaccine the previous day. But isn’t a vaccine supposed to keep the baby healthy, you wonder…. [ Continue Reading ]
Hepatitis E, which is known to be a water born disease, was discovered in 1990. Incubation period Usually two to nine weeks. Age group It mainly affects young adults, between 15 to 40 years. Transmission Hepatitis E thrives in hot climes where water or food is contaminated by faeces containing the virus. Symptoms Acute viral… [ Continue Reading ]
Another infectious disease like measles or chicken pox, mumps is caused by a virus which attacks mainly the glandular and nervous tissues. Although the morbidity rate tends to be high, mortality rate is negligible. Causative agent Mumps is caused by a virus called Myxovirus parotiditis. Source of infection The disease is spread by direct contact… [ Continue Reading ]
An acute viral disease of the central nervous system, rabies is usually fatal. Normally, dogs, cats, jackals and wolves are carriers of the disease, which is transmitted to human beings if they are bitten or even licked by a rabid animal. Caused by a virus called Lyssavirus type 1, rabies is transmitted through the saliva… [ Continue Reading ]
The Hepatitis C virus is a fairly new entity for professional practitioners of medicine, since it was identified as recently as 1989. Transmission The virus is mainly transmitted through transfusion of contaminated blood or using contaminated equipment such as needles. Most of the Hepatitis C cases are intravenous drug users, who share needles. However, unlike… [ Continue Reading ]
Tetanus, caused by the bacillus Clostridium Tetani, is quite rare in developed countries, but is still an endemic infection in India. The most common form of the disease, neonatal tetanus (newborns suffering from tetanus), has a fatality rate as high as 80 to 90 per cent. One has, however, noticed a decrease in the neonatal… [ Continue Reading ]
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