
The environment in which we humans dwell consists of many hidden disease-causing bacteria, which are known as pathogens. These pathogens attack living beings and give rise to several diseases. This article showcases the symptoms and treatment of these diseases.
The word pathogen is derived from the Greek word pathos which means “Giving rise to suffering”. These pathogens are one of the contributing factors to many diseases. Pathogens could be bacterial, viral, fungal and prionic. These disease causing germs, harm the humans and deteriorate their health. Pathogens are present in the atmosphere, water and even in the food we eat. Therefore, humans are at a greater risk of developing hazardous health conditions.
Human immune system is build with certain bacteria, that fight against such disease causing agents. However, damaged bacteria of the immune system, allows other pathogens to enter the human body and deteriorate the health. As these diseases are classified under four categories, each illness has different symptoms.
Viral Diseases
Viral diseases spread quickly when an individual comes in contact with the infected person. However, some of these viral infectious germs could cause acute illness and an individual may recover quickly. In rare cases, viral infection could lead to chronic illness. Severity of the disease is influenced by the strength of the immune system of the host.
These viruses look for a breach to enter the body of the host. Even a minor wound could allow them to enter the body. Hence these germs enter the body through skin, attack mucous membrane, respiratory tract, and gastrointestinal tract. Some of the diseases that a viral pathogen can cause are: smallpox, influenza, mumps, measles, chickenpox, ebola, and rubella.
Diseases | Symptoms |
Smallpox | High fever, tiredness, body aches, backache, vomiting, headache. |
Influenza | Fever, fatigue, pain while moving the eyes, headache, muscle pain, dry cough, sore throat |
Mumps | Headache, vomiting, stiff neck, sore throat, poor appetite, fever, swelling of parotid glands, abdominal pain, otalgia (earache). |
Measles | Sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, eyelid pain, redness of eyes, increased sensitivity to light, dry cough, low appetite, reddish spotty rash, less energy, body pain, tiredness. |
Chickenpox | Headache, high temperature, nausea, loss of appetite, muscle pain. |
Ebola | Fever, severe headache, sore throat, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach ache, dehydration, dry cough, muscle pain. |
Rubella | Swelling of the lymph glands, tiredness, watery eyes, headache, body pain. |
Bacterial Diseases
Many infectious diseases are caused due to the harmful bacteria present in the environment in which we live. Maximum of the population around the world falls prey to pathogenic bacteria. These pathogens can easily come in contact with the skin of the host and penetrate further to cause more harm. Bacterial pathogens have the tendency to cause more harm and produce severe medical conditions. Less number of such pathogens have the tendency to cause serious health problems. Some of the species of bacterial pathogens stay on the outer surface of the body while some are strong enough to penetrate the body and directly target the respiratory and urinary tract and the intestine.
Following are the bacteria species that have introduced severe medical conditions in humans.
- Mycobacterium Tuberculosis: Tuberculosis
- Streptococcus and Pseudomonas: Pneumonia
- Shingella, Campylobacter and Salmonella: These bacteria are transmitted through food and cause food borne diseases.
Some of the other bacterial pathogenic diseases are tetanus, typhoid, diphtheria and syphilis.
Diseases | Symptoms |
Tetanus | Spasms in jaw and muscles, muscle stiffness, irritability, weakness, difficulty in swallowing. |
Typhoid | High temperature, dry tongue, headache, diarrhea, weakness, fatigue. |
Pneumonia | Greenish mucus from the lungs, cough, fever, chilly and shivering, chest wall pain, nausea, diarrhea. |
Tuberculosis | Weight loss, loss of appetite, fatigue, high fever, thick bloody phlegm out of coughing. |
Diphtheria | Sore throat, fatigue, chills, headache, pain while swallowing, heavy breathing, swollen glands, blood discharge from the nose. |
Syphilis | Swollen lymph glands, headaches, patchy hair loss, weight loss, fever, joint pain, skin rash. |
Fungal Diseases
Fungi are saprophytes, but have the tendency to cause threatening diseases in humans. Fungal diseases are on the rise and mainly affect people with poor immune system. Fungal diseases quickly effect the skin and if left unattended can penetrate further and cause septicemia. Some of the common fungal infections are vaginal yeast infection, athlete’s foot, mycosis and tinae barbae.
Diseases | Symptoms |
Vaginal Yeast Infection | Itching, burning, odorless white discharge. |
Athlete’s Foot | Itching, scaling, flaking, blisters, cracked skin. |
Mycosis | Itchy skin, skin ulcers, insomnia, weight loss, fever, anemia, lichen planus. |
Tinae Barbae | Red bumps on the face, formation of pus. |
Prionic Diseases
Prions are infectious proteins that cause diseases like scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is also known as the mad cow disease as it mainly infects the brain of the cattle. However, if humans ingest an animal infected by this disease, they are likely to develop human form of mad cow disease. The human form of this disease is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The symptoms of these disease are memory loss, dementia, ataxia and myoclonus.
Parasite Pathogens
Protists and Helminths are two eukaryotic microbes that can cause malaria. This is a very common disease that has let down the health conditions of many people. Some of the common symptoms of malaria are sweating, chills, high fever, headaches, muscle pain, diarrhea and cough.
Symptoms are quite many, which can in a way help in preventing diseases from getting worse. Pathogens prevail in the environment, which makes human prone to get affected by deadly diseases. Hence, it is important to maintain a clean and healthy environment.