the study of the pathogenic microbes and the role of microbes in human illness. Includes the study of microbial pathogenesis and epidemiology and is related to the study of disease pathology and immunology. This area of microbiology also covers the study of human microbiota, cancer, and the tumor microenvironment.
Diagnosis has important implications for patient care, research, and policy. Diagnosis has been described as both a process and a classification scheme, or a “pre-existing set of categories agreed upon by the medical profession to designate a specific condition”. When a diagnosis is accurate and made in a timely manner, a patient has the best opportunity for a positive health outcome because clinical decision making will be tailored to a correct understanding of the patient’s health problem.
The natural history of a disease classifies into five stages: underlying, susceptible, subclinical, clinical, and recovery/disability/death. Corresponding preventive health measures have been grouped into similar stages to target the prevention of these stages of a disease. These preventive stages are primordial prevention, primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention.
The wake of COVID-19 has shown us that human and scientific efforts are required to combat diseases. However, the sudden outbreak of a pandemic like COVID-19 could also divert attention of researchers and scientists from focusing on existing and ongoing research to the new enemy of humanity. One area we hope will not be pushed aside is the role of probiotics and nutraceuticals in nutrition, health, and wellbeing and of course, cure for some for some diseases. This article focuses on probiotics and potentials for the treatment of ulcers.
Gout is a multifactorial ailment with predisposing factors of high purine diet, usage of diuretics, kidney dysfunction and alcohol consumption. It is a chronic disease characterized by the deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystal in the joints and hyperuricemia,
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness of 2-21 days duration that occurs in West Africa. The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces
by Tayo Fasuan So let us get straight to this in order to warn and encourage us in the fight against COVID-19 caused by SARS CoV-2 that just got into our country, Nigeria. So, why would this Coronavirus be difficult to control. 1. It is an air-borne virus. In the history of infectious diseases, airborne […]
Coronaviruses (CoV), including SARS CoV, are single-stranded RNA viruses and belong to the family Coronaviridae. Coronaviruses are spread by the respiratory route.Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by SARS coronavirus (SARSCoV), which is spread by the respiratory route and through the ingestion of aerosolized faeces via contamination of the hands and environment. Close contact […]
by Tayo Fasuan Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women worldwide. Prediction models stratify a woman’s risk for developing cancer and can guide screening recommendations based on the presence of known and quantifiable hormonal, environmental, personal, or genetic risk factors. Mammography remains the mainstay breast cancer screening and detection but magnetic resonance imaging […]
Key facts Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. AMR is an increasingly serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society. Without effective antibiotics, the success of major surgery and cancer chemotherapy would […]
In 1890, Emil Behring and Shibasaburo Kitasato reported an extraordinary experiment. They immunized rabbits with tetanus and then collected serum from these animals. Subsequently, they injected 0.2 ml of the immune serum into the abdominal cavity of six mice. After 24 hours, they infected the treated animals and untreated controls with live, virulent tetanus bacteria. […]
In the field of infectious diseases, two of the most dreaded types of infection are disseminated infections and opportunistic infections. Without these two forms of infections, most diseases would easily be resolved. Co-infection is another complication, but we’ll discuss that at another date.
Let’s now take a brief look at the possible ways in which our first lines of immune defense, which are incidentally at the sites/points of entry, can be breached and compromised.
Before any individual can be infected, there must be a point of entry. For us humans, most of our sense organs are point of entry for microorganisms, and they also double as initiation point for infection most times. Hence, we have the following entry points for infective microorganisms: mouth, ear, nose, eyes, skin and sex organs (genitalia).
Autoimmunity plays a role in more than 80 diseases. Following are brief descriptions of some of the many diseases in which autoimmunity may be involved.
We present some words you might have come across when reading an immunology-related topics, but didn’t know or didn’t have the time to check up. Just update your knowledge with these simple terms.
“Sexual relationships can also be affected. For men, diseases that affect blood vessels can lead to problems with erection. In women, damage to glands that produce moisture can lead to vaginal dryness. This makes intercourse painful. In both men and women, pain, weakness, or stiff joints may make it hard for them to move the way they once did. “
The view of the foetus as an organ transplant, and the requirement of systemic immune suppression for the success of the transplant, led to the proposal of pregnancy as a condition of systemic immune suppression as a requirement for the success of the pregnancy.
In the second part of this four-part article, we briefly look at how autoimmune diseases are diagnosed, how they are treated and the types of doctor that can treat these diseases.
