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In 1979 an outbreak of hepatoenteritis, also known as the Palm Island mystery disease, was reported and described a hepatitis-like illness (associated in many cases with dehydration and bloody diarrhoea) in 148 people (138 children and 10 adults) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent in Palm Island, Queensland.
The cause of the outbreak was determined to be the addition of excessive doses of copper sulfate to the water supply of Solomon Dam to target a cyanobacteria bloom of "Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii". The excessive dosing was following the use of least-cost contractors to control the algae, who were unqualified in the field.
Toxins from the cyanobacteria itself had also been described as a possible cause.
Early suggestions included Toxocariasis.
Coconut cadang-cadang disease has no treatment yet. However, chemotherapy with antibiotics has been tried with tetracycline solutions; antibiotics failed trying to alter progress of the disease since they had no significant effect on any of the studied parameters. When the treated plants were at the early stage, tetracycline injections failed to prevent the progression of the palms to more advanced stages, nor did they affect significantly the mean number of spathes or nuts. Penicillin treatment had no apparent improvement either.
Control strategies are elimination of reservoir species, vector control, mild strain protection and breeding for host resistance. Eradication of diseased plants is usually performed to minimize spread but is of dubious efficacy due to the difficulties of early diagnosis as the virus etiology remains unknown and the one discovered are the three main stages in the disease development.
During the latest outbreak of the disease (2004), several treatment methods were tested. Main treatment involved the administration of antibiotics, in some cases glucose solution or dietary mixtures were additionally supplemented. Outcome of the different treatment methods varied greatly. Especially the success of antibiotic treatment and a widespread use on wild animals remains a matter of debate.
In cases of suspected copper poisoning, penicillamine is the drug of choice, and dimercaprol, a heavy metal chelating agent, is often administered. Vinegar is not recommended to be given, as it assists in solubilizing insoluble copper salts. The inflammatory symptoms are to be treated on general principles, as are the nervous ones.
There is some evidence that alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) may work as a milder chelator of tissue-bound copper. Alpha lipoic acid is also being researched for chelating other heavy metals, such as mercury.
Treatment of asymptomatic carriers should be considered if parasites are still detected after 3 months. In mild-to-moderate babesiosis, the treatment of choice is a combination of atovaquone and azithromycin. This regimen is preferred to clindamycin and quinine because side effects are fewer. The standard course is 7 to 10 days, but this is extended to at least 6 weeks in people with relapsing disease. Even mild cases are recommended to be treated to decrease the chance of inadvertently transmitting the infection by donating blood. In life-threatening cases, exchange transfusion is performed. In this procedure, the infected red blood cells are removed and replaced with uninfected ones.
Imizol is a drug used for treatment of babesiosis in dogs.
Extracts of the poisonous, bulbous plant "Boophone disticha" are used in the folk medicine of South Africa to treat equine babesiosis. "B. disticha" is a member of the daffodil family Amaryllidaceae and has also been used in preparations employed as arrow poisons, hallucinogens, and in embalming. The plant is rich in alkaloids, some of which display an action similar to that of scopolamine.
The presence of avian botulism is extremely hard to detect before an outbreak. Frequent surveillance of sites at risk is needed for early detection of the disease in order to take action and remove carcasses. Vaccines are also developed, but they are expected to have limited effectiveness in stemming outbreaks in wild waterbird populations. However may be effective in reducing mortality for endangered island waterfowl and small non-migratory wild populations. Field tests are needed.
Antibiotics are ineffective, as SARS is a viral disease. Treatment of SARS is largely supportive with antipyretics, supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilation as needed.
People with SARS must be isolated, preferably in negative pressure rooms, with complete barrier nursing precautions taken for any necessary contact with these patients.
Some of the more serious damage caused by SARS may be due to the body's own immune system reacting in what is known as cytokine storm.
As of 2017, there is no cure or protective vaccine for SARS that has been shown to be both safe and effective in humans. The identification and development of novel vaccines and medicines to treat SARS is a priority for governments and public health agencies around the world. MassBiologics, a non-profit organization engaged in the discovery, development and manufacturing of biologic therapies, is cooperating with researchers at NIH and the CDC developed a monoclonal antibody therapy that demonstrated efficacy in animal models.
The illness lasts about a week and is rarely fatal. Treatment includes the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents or the application of heat to the affected muscles. Relapses during the weeks following the initial episode are a characteristic feature of this disease.
There is no known treatment for FTS, as the cause is not yet known. There are conflicting reports on whether the paralysis is reversible; some sources claim that moving an elephant away from the area in which it contracted the condition will allow it to recover, while others claim that damage to the trunk is irreversible.
In some extreme cases, wildlife managers have killed affected elephants for humane reasons.
Cookware in which copper is the main structural element (as opposed to copper clad, copper sandwiched or copper colored) is sometimes manufactured without a lining when intended to be used for any of a number of specific culinary tasks, such as preparing preserves or meringues. Otherwise, copper cookware is lined with a non-reactive metal to prevent contact between acidic foods and the structural copper element of the cookware.
Excepting for acute or chronic conditions, exposure to copper in cooking is generally considered harmless. Following Paracelsus, dosage makes the poison; as this pertains to copper "a defense mechanism has apparently evolved as a consequence of which toxicity in man is very unusual."
Acute exposure and attendant copper toxicity is possible when cooking or storing highly acidic foods in unlined copper vessels for extended periods, or by exposing foodstuffs to reactive copper salts (copper corrosion, or verdigris). Continuous, small ("chronic") exposures of acidic foods to copper may also result in toxicity in cases where either surface area interaction potentials are significant, pH is exceptionally low and concentrated (in the case of cooking with, for example, vinegar or wine), or both, and insufficient time elapses between exposures for normal homeostatic elimination of excess copper.
Exceptions to the above may be observed in the case of jam, jelly and preserve -making, wherein unlined copper vessels are used to cook (not to store) acidic preparations, in this case of fruit. Methods of jamming and preserving specify sugar as chemically necessary to the preserving (antibacterial) action, which has the additional effect of mediating (buffering) the interaction of fruit acid with copper, permitting the use of the metal for its efficient thermal transfer properties.
There is no vaccine for SARS to date. Isolation and quarantine remain the most effective means to prevent the spread of SARS. Other preventative measures include:
- Handwashing
- Disinfection of surfaces for fomites
- Wearing a surgical mask
- Avoiding contact with bodily fluids
- Washing the personal items of someone with SARS in hot, soapy water (eating utensils, dishes, bedding, etc.)
- Keeping children with symptoms home from school
Many public health interventions were taken to help control the spread of the disease; which is mainly spread through respiratory droplets in the air. These interventions included earlier detection of the disease, isolation of people who are infected, droplet and contact precautions, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE); including masks and isolation gowns. A screening process was also put in place at airports to monitor air travel to and from affected countries. Although no cases have been identified since 2004, the CDC is still working to make federal and local rapid response guidelines and recommendations in the event of a reappearance of the virus.
Jembrana disease is an acute viral disease of cattle. While it produces relatively mild symptoms in taurine cattle, the Jembrana virus is particularly severe in Bali cattle where it has a fatality rate of approximately seventeen percent. Its first documented outbreak occurred in 1964 in the Jembrana district of Bali, Indonesia. Within two years of its appearance the disease had killed an estimated 26,000 of the approximately 300,000 cattle on Bali Island. The virus belongs to the Lentivirus genus, which include immunodeficiency viruses such as HIV. Instead of the chronic disease produced by most Lentivruses, Jembrana disease produces acute effects. After an incubation period of 5–12 days the disease produces symptoms including loss of appetite, fever, lethargy, enlargement of the lymph nodes, and diarrhea. There is at least one strain that has been sequenced.
No definite control measures exist at the present.
- Genetic resistance and Vector control are not options because resistant/tolerant varieties have yet to be discovered, and there is no known vector of CCCVd.
- Eradication is ineffective because of the long latent period between infection and appearance of symptoms, which is approximately 1 to 2 years.
- Cross-protection (see also Influenza vaccine: Cross-protection) is a possibility for the future. Cross infection means inoculating the coconut with a mild strain of the viroid to give the coconut tree some degree of protection from infection by the killer form. This is similar to Edward Jenner's pioneering smallpox vaccine. He used cowpox to confer induced immunity on humans. But in the case of Cadang-cadang, this is still under research.
Avian Botulism is a strain of botulism that affects wild and captive bird populations, most notably waterfowl. This is a paralytic disease brought on by the Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNt) of the bacterium "Clostridium botulinum". "C. botulinum" can fall into one of 7 different types which are strains A through G. Type C BoNt is most frequently associated with waterfowl mortality. The Type E strain is also commonly associated with avian outbreaks and is frequently found in fish species which is why most outbreaks occur in piscivorous birds.
Avian Botulism occurs all over the world and its understanding is important for wildlife managers, hunters, bird watchers, and anyone who owns wetland property as this disease can account for over 1,000,000 waterbird deaths in a year.
Anthelmintics such as diethylcarbamazine and albendazole have shown promise in the treatment of "Brugia timori" filariasis. Some researchers are confident that "Brugia timori" filariasis may be an eradicable disease. Related filarial nematodes have been found highly sensitive to elimination of their endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria, and this may be a powerful attack route against "Brugia timori" as well.
There is no cure for XDP and medical treatment offers only temporary relief. Some authors have reported benzodiazepines and anticholinergic agents in the early stages of the disease. Botulinum toxin injections have been used to relieve focal dystonia. Deep brain stimulation has shown promise in the few cases treated surgically.
Diphtheritic stomatitis is a recently discovered disease and has thus far been reported only in Yellow-eyed penguins ("Megadyptes antipodes"). Its symptoms are similar to human diphtheria and is characterized by infecteous lesions in the mouth area that impede swallowing and cause respiratory troubles. The infection is caused by "Corynebacterium amycolatum", an aerobic Gram-positive bacterium and mainly affects very young chicks. However, it seems likely that a triggering agent (e.g. a virus) might be involved in which renders the corynebacterium a secondary pathogen.
The disease has been a serious cause of mortality in the 2002 and 2004 Yellow-eyed penguin breeding seasons. It seems that only the New Zealand South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura were affected.
Bornholm disease or epidemic pleurodynia or epidemic myalgia is a disease caused by the Coxsackie B virus or other viruses.
It is named after the Danish island of Bornholm where an outbreak was one of the first to be described.
Oral retinoids have proven effective in treating this disorder. Depending on the side effects they may improve the quality of life. Examples are etretinate, acitretin, isotretinoin
Ichthyoallyeinotoxism, or hallucinogenic fish inebriation, comes from eating certain species of fish found in several parts of the tropics, the effects of which are reputed to be similar in some aspects to LSD. Experiences may include vivid auditory and visual hallucinations. This has given rise to the collective common name "dream fish" for ichthyoallyeinotoxic fish.
The species most commonly claimed to be capable of producing this kind of toxicity include several species from the "Kyphosus" genus, including "Kyphosus fuscus", "K. cinerascens" and "K. vaigiensis". It is unclear whether the toxins are produced by the fish themselves or by marine algae in their diet, but a dietary origin may be more likely.
"Sarpa salpa", a species of bream, can induce LSD-like hallucinations if it is eaten. These widely distributed coastal fish are called "the fish that make dreams" in Arabic. In 2006, two men who ate fish, apparently the "Sarpa salpa" caught in the Mediterranean were affected by ichthyoallyeinotoxism and experienced hallucinations lasting for several days.
Other hallucinogenic fish are "Siganus spinus", called "the fish that inebriates" in Reunion Island, and "Mulloides flavolineatus" (formerly "Mulloidichthys samoensis"), called "the chief of ghosts" in Hawaii.
Babesiosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with "Babesia", a genus of Apicomplexa. Human babesiosis is an uncommon but emerging disease in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and parts of Europe, and sporadic throughout the rest of the world. It occurs in warm weather. Ticks transmit the human strain of babesiosis, so it often presents with other tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease. After trypanosomes, "Babesia" is thought to be the second-most common blood parasite of mammals, and they can have a major impact on health of domestic animals in areas without severe winters. In cattle, a major host, the disease is known as Texas cattle fever, redwater, or piroplasmosis.
Flinders Island spotted fever is a condition characterized by a rash in approximately 85% of cases.
It is associated with "Rickettsia honei".
"F. oxysporum" is a major wilt pathogen of many economically important crop plants. It is a soil-borne pathogen, which can live in the soil for long periods of time, so rotational cropping is not a useful control method. It can also spread through infected dead plant material, so cleaning up at the end of the season is important.
One control method is to improve soil conditions because "F. oxysporum" spreads faster through soils that have high moisture and bad drainage. Other control methods include planting resistant varieties, removing infected plant tissue to prevent overwintering of the disease, using soil and systemic fungicides to eradicate the disease from the soil, flood fallowing, and using clean seeds each year. Applying fungicides depends on the field environment. It is difficult to find a biological control method because research in a greenhouse can have different effects than testing in the field. The best control method found for "F. oxysporum" is planting resistant varieties, although not all have been bred for every forma specialis.
"F. oxysporum" f. sp. "batatas" can be controlled by using clean seed, cleaning up infected leaf and plant material and breeding for resistance. Fungicides can also be used, but are not as effective as the other two because of field conditions during application. Fungicides can be used effectively by dip treating propagation material.
Different races of "F. oxysporum" f. sp. "cubense", Panama disease on banana, can be susceptible, resistant and partially resistant. It can be controlled by breeding for resistance and through eradication and quarantine of the pathogen by improving soil conditions and using clean plant material. Biological control can work using antagonists. Systemic and soil fungicides can also be used.
The main control method for "F. oxysporum" f. sp. "lycopersici", vascular wilt on tomato, is resistance. Other effective control methods are fumigating the infected soil and raising the soil pH to 6.5-7.
The most effective way to control "F. oxysporum" f. sp. "melonis" is to graft a susceptible variety of melon to a resistant root-stock. Resistant cultivars, liming the soil to change soil pH to 6-7, and reducing soil nitrogen levels also help control "F. oxysporum" f. sp. "melonis".
The fungus "Trichoderma viride" is a proven biocontrol agent to control this disease in an environment friendly way.
Taravana is a disease often found among Polynesian island natives who habitually dive deep without breathing apparatus many times in close succession, usually for food or pearls. These free-divers may make 40 to 60 dives a day, each of 30 or 40 metres (100 to 140 feet).
Taravana seems to be decompression sickness. The usual symptoms are vertigo, nausea, lethargy, paralysis and death. The word "taravana" is Tuamotu Polynesian for "to fall crazily".
Taravana is also used to describe someone who is "crazy because of the sea".