Q. What does the terminology ‘tropical infections’ mean?
A. Tropical Infections are those which are most prevalent/unique to tropical and subtropical regions, and are less prevalent in temperate climates. They include vector borne parasitic and viral infections like malaria, dengue, chikungunya, filariasisetc; common worm infestations; neglected tropical diseases like chagas disease, schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis; tuberculosis, leprosy, rabies, scrub typhus etc.
Q. What are Vector-borne diseases?
A. Vector-borne diseases are those which are spread by living organisms that transmit infectious diseases between humans or from animals to humans. Eg. Mosquito is a vector for malaria.
They account for >17% of all infectious diseases, causing > 1 million deaths annually.
> 2.5 billion people in over 100 countries are at risk of contracting dengue alone.
Malaria causes > 600 000 deaths every year globally.
Most of these diseases are preventable through informed protective measures.
Q. Which infections are common in India?
A. Malaria, dengue fever, tuberculosis and rabies are responsible for major morbidity and mortality associated with tropical infections in our country.
Q. What are some of the important facts about mosquito borne-diseases?
A. Important facts-
1. All mosquito borne-infections are preventable with personal protective measures like use of mosquito nets, mosquito-repellant creams etc.
2. Most of these diseases can occur throughout the year sporadically but the no. of cases increase (epidemics) in the monsoon and post-monsoon season.
3. They usually present with acute onset fever, bodyache, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loose stools. If treatment is not started on time, complications can occur- like cerebral malaria, shock and hemorrhage in dengue.
Q. What is rabies?
A. Rabies is a deadly viral disease caused by animal-bite. Dogs and cats are the most common rabid animals reported in the Asian continent. Rabies is deadly if treatment (Post-exposure prophylaxis) is not started quickly after the animal exposure. However, if treatment is started on time, life can be saved. It is very difficult to save the patient once the symptoms of rabies appear i.e. aerophopia (air-fear), hydrophobia (water-fear), muscle spasms, seizures, aphasia (difficulty in speaking), dysphagia (difficult swallowing and eating), fever, delirium etc.
