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User:SimonHarris

2008-07-27T22:31:54Z

SimonHarris: New page: {{User lordshipofchrist}}

Influenza

2008-07-27T22:27:43Z

SimonHarris:

'''Influenza''' or '''The Flu''' is an infliction caused by a [[virus]] that affects the [[nose]], [[throat]], and [[lungs]]. The Flu may cause severe illness and is life-threatening in both [[infant]]s and old people.

==Symptoms==
* [[Fever]]
* [[Headache]]
* [[Fatigue]]
* a dry [[cough]]
* [[Sore throat]]
* a runny nose
* [[muscle]] aches
* [[nausea]]
* [[vomit]]
* [[diarrhea]]

==When Flu Occurs==
The peak of flu season can occur anywhere from late [[December]] through [[March]]. In the Southern Hemisphere the season is from [[June]] to [[September]]. The overall health impact (e.g., infections, hospitalizations, and deaths) of a flu season varies from year to year. Seasons are more likely to be severe if the epidemic originates in China. The Centres for Disease Control monitors circulating flu viruses and their related disease activity and provides influenza reports each week from [[October]] through [[May]].

==Contagion==
The period when an infected person is contagious depends on the age and health of the person. Studies show that most healthy adults may be able to infect others from 2 days prior to becoming sick and for 10 days after they first develop symptoms. Some young children and people with weakened immune systems may be contagious for longer than a week. Infectivity also varies widely between people, with about one in ten being "hyper-infectors" who are responsible for the majority of influenza transmission. While each flu season is unique, it is estimated that, on average, approximately 5% to 20% of people get the flu each year, and more than 200,000 persons are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year. About 36,000 people die on average per year from the complications of flu.

[[category:virus]]

Tuberculosis

2008-07-27T21:28:20Z

SimonHarris:

'''Tuberculosis''', also known as "TB" or "consumption", is a multi-system [[disease]] caused by the [[organism]] ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis''.

==Epidemiology==
Approximately one-third of the world population is infected with TB at any given time, with approximately 3 million TB-related deaths per year worldwide.

People with [[AIDS]], [[cancer]], malnutrition, [[chemotherapy]], [[Illegal drugs|drug]] or [[alcohol]] abuse are especially susceptible to developing active TB. The risk of infection is also related to the patient's [[genetics]], with some groups of blood antigens offering partial immunity.
TB rates and deaths are greatest in the developing world, and TB is one of the leading causes of death in people infected with [[HIV]].
In the United States, TB rates increased during the early years of the HIV epidemic, but have since declined, and are in fact the lowest they have been since surveillance began in 1953. However, TB still affects tens of thousands of Americans, and kills several hundred per year. Antibiotic-resistant TB is a major problem in states with high levels of immigration from Eastern Europe, since these strains are particularly common in these countries.

==Natural History==
[[Image:Tbxray.jpg|200px|right|thumb|X-Ray of patient with active TB in right upper lung]]
[[Image:Acid-fastbacilli.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Photomicrograph of TB bacilli]]
Tuberculosis can affect any organ in the body, but the primary disease is in the lungs. TB is spread by aerosols produced by coughing, or by prolonged contact with someone with active pulmonary TB. This most often occurs in household contacts, or in people who work with an infected person in a workplace with poor ventilation.

*'''Latent TB''': In most people, especially those who have a normal immune system, after becoming infected, the body controls the illness. They have no symptoms, and are not contagious. Signs of illness can be a positive TB test or typical changes on X-rays of the chest. The TB bacteria survive in "nodules" during this latent infection, in tissues such as the lungs, liver and lymph nodes. In a small, but significant, percentage of people, latent TB can "reactivate" and make the person ill. Therefore, most people with latent TB are treated to eliminate the infection.

*'''Active TB''': In some people, the initial infection can make them ill, in others, latent TB reactivates and makes them ill. In ''pulmonary tuberculosis'' the usual symptoms are cough for longer than three weeks, bloody sputum, fevers, night sweats, and weight loss. At this stage, the disease is very contagious, and is likely to be fatal within two to three months if not treated.

==Treatment==
'''Latent TB''' is usually treated fairly easily with one to two types of antibiotics, depending on local resistance patterns. The treatment often lasts up to a year, since the nodules surrounding the bacteria protect them from antibiotics in the bloodstream.

'''Active TB''' usually requires hospitalization and treatment with multiple medications. Given that the treatment regimen is lengthy and complicated, '''Directly Observed Therapy''' (DOT) is often recommended. There have been many legal and ethical issues involving involuntary isolation of non-compliant patients with active TB.

'''Multi Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB)''': Certain geographical areas have seen rises in "MDR-TB". This is especially a problem when patients are intermittently-compliant with their therapy, as the bacteria develops drug-resistance. These drug-resistant strains are also more virulent and spread rapidly.

==Etymology==
The word ''tuberculosis'' derives from the [[Latin]]ate ''tuberculum'', meaning root vegetable ([[French]] ''tubercule'', [[Spanish]] and [[Portuguese]] ''tubérculo'', [[Italian]] ''tubero''). The disease primarily afflicted poor people, who had a diet reliant on cheap root vegetables such as [[potato]]es and [[turnip]]s, so it was mistakenly thought the disease was harbored in such vegetables. It is now known that the squalor of [[poverty]] simply created unsanitary conditions that fostered the spread of the disease.

==Historical figures who died of Tuberculosis==
*[[Anders Celsius]]. Scientist and Inventor
*[[David Brainerd]], theologian
*[[Frederic Chopin]], composer
*[[Franz Kafka]], writer
*"Doc" Holliday, dentist and gunslinger
*[[John Calvin]], religious figure

==See also==
*[[American Medical Association]]
*[[Doctor]]

==References==
#http://www.cdc.gov
#Mandell, Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, Chirchill Livingstone.

[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:Diseases]]

Alaska

2008-07-27T21:07:44Z

SimonHarris:

{{USState
|name=Alaska
|flag=Alaska_State_Flag.gif
|motto=North to the Future
|nick=The Last Frontier
|capital=Juneau
|language=English
|governor=Sarah Palin
|gparty=Republican
|senator1=Ted Stevens
|s1party=Republican
|senator2=Lisa Murkowski
|s2party=Republican
|population=
|date=January 3, 1959
}}
'''Alaska''' became the forty-ninth [[state]] to enter into the [[United States of America]] in 1959. Alaska is not contiguous to the rest of the United States, bordering [[Canada]]'s [[Yukon Territory]] and province of [[British Columbia]] to the east. Its [[capital]] is [[Juneau]].

Alaska's territory was purchased from [[Russia]] in 1867 by the Johnson administration for 7.2 million [[Dollar|USD]]; its vast [[oil]] and [[gold]] reserves have more than repaid the investment that was once ridiculed as "Seward's Folly.", after [[William Seward|William H. Seward]] who was the [[Secretary of State]] that negotiated the purchase.

Although it is the largest state by area, it is the third smallest state by population (larger than only [[Wyoming]] and [[Vermont]]).

==Elected Officials==
===Federal===
*Senator [[Ted Stevens]] (R)
*Senator [[Lisa Murkowski]] (R)
*Rep. [[Don Young]] (R)
===Statewide===
*Governor [[Sarah Palin]] (R)
*Lt. Governor [[Sean Parnell]] (R)

==External Links==
*[http://arcticcam.com/cam/ Live image from Fairbanks, Alaska]

{{USstates}}
[[Category:Alaska]]