10. African sleeping sickness
Mortality rate: 42.5%
The parasitic ailment African trypanosomiasis is spread by the tsetse fly. Fever and headaches are common symptoms, which are followed by sleep problems.
The condition will inevitably result in unconsciousness and death if left untreated.
In October 2019, a technician in Ivory Coast checked locals for the sickness. These blood tests assist doctors in identifying patients who are in the early stages of the disease, allowing them to deliver more timely and effective therapy.
African sleeping sickness (continued): Eliminating the crisis
The World Health Organization set a 2020 deadline to eliminate the illness as a public health issue.
Community health professionals like this one play a critical role in reducing fatality rates.
9 (TIE). Ebola virus
Mortality rate: 50%
Ebola is spread naturally by fruit bats and other African animals. The virus is infectious after it has been transferred to a human population through direct contact with another person.
At this moment, there are no known therapies or vaccinations for the virus.
The illness was still spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo as of late January 2020.
Ebola (continued): Fighting brain cancer
Yale University researchers are investigating how Ebola genes may be used to treat some brain cancers.
The virus's properties that make it tough for the immune system to combat also make it a promising cancer therapy option.
8 (TIE). Marburg virus
Mortality rate: 50%
The Marburg virus is comparable to Ebola in terms of symptoms. Humans get the disease by coming into touch with Rousettus bats. The virus spreads through human body fluids once it enters a human population.
Death from substantial blood loss generally occurs 8 or 9 days after the beginning of symptoms in fatal cases
7. Hendra virus
Mortality rate: 57%
Humans and horses are both infected by this virus, which is carried by fruit bats. In 1994, it was found in Australia. Cases are uncommon; seven persons were diagnosed between 1994 and 2013, four of them died.
Symptoms include flu-like respiratory difficulties, which are followed by encephalitis in severe instances.
A Queensland man mows his lawn while a swarm of fruit bats flies about adjacent mango trees in this shot.
6. Bird flu
Mortality rate: 60%
Close contact with infected birds spreads severe avian flu. Human-to-human transmission does not appear to be common, according to the World Health Organization.
On February 1, 2020, China announced an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus among poultry.
5. Nipah virus
Mortality rate: 75%
The Hendra virus is linked to this bat-borne virus. Acute respiratory sickness and deadly encephalitis are also symptoms.
Since 2001, the Nipah virus has been more widespread than the Hendra virus, resulting in near-annual outbreaks in Bangladesh.
4. Brain-eating amoeba
Mortality rate: 95%
The brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri is usually found in warm, fresh water and enters the human body through the nose.
it is difficult to detect the condition that causes it, and it is virtually invariably deadly. Neck stiffness and headaches proceed fast to disorientation, convulsions, and, in some cases, death.
It's also uncommon. In the United States, between zero and eight instances are recorded each year.
3. Balamuthia encephalitis
Mortality rate: 98%
These hazardous amoebas may infect the skin, sinuses, and brain, among other regions of the body. Amoebas are soil-dwelling organisms that can enter the body through open wounds or inhalation.
Only 200 instances have been documented since the illness was identified in 1986.
2 (TIE). Rabies
Mortality rate: 100%
Only a few examples of unvaccinated humans surviving the rabies virus have been documented in human history.
Dog bites are responsible for 91% of all instances. After a trip to the veterinarian, this boy in Bali holds his dog's rabies vaccination certificate. After an epidemic killed more than 130 humans in Indonesia, officials initiated a vaccination drive for 400,000 canines in 2010.
1 (TIE). Mad cow disease
Mortality rate: 100%
Doctors refer to mad cow disease in humans as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It's regarded uncommon: just 350 instances are documented each year in the United States.
The majority of instances of the fatal neurologic illness are unknown. Personality changes, sleeplessness, loss of muscular control, and hallucinations are some of the symptoms.
You must be logged in to post a comment.