Category Health & Medical

What is meaning of term ‘Stem cell therapy’?

Stem cell therapy is therapy through cells. In this novel therapeutic approach, cells are administered directly into the body. Single cells are used for this purpose. But what are stem cells? Stem cells are the raw materials of the body, cells from which all the other cells develop. The stem cells divide and form cells that are called daughter cells. Now these daughter cells either become new stem cells or turn into specialised cells that undergo specific functions. They can turn into blood cells, bone cells, brain cells and so on. Stem cell therapy involves guiding the stem cells to turn them into cells doing specific functions. These cells can be used in patients whose tissues are affected or damaged by disease. So these stem cells are turned into specific cells and they repair the damaged tissues. Stem cell therapy is widely used in treating Parkinson’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease, type 1 diabetes, burns, heart disease, cancer and so on.

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A pandemic is when a diseases growth is exponential and the number of cases increases each day across the world. A pandemic situation is declared when a new disease affects several countries and populations.  Viral respiratory diseases are most likely to turn into a pandemic like the COVID-19. In the past, there have been numerous cases of influenza pandemics. Global pandemic is called by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after taking advice from international health experts. The WHO defines pandemics epidemics, and endemic diseases based on the rate of the spread of the disease.

An epidemic is a sudden unexpected increase in the number of cases of an illness in a specific geographical area. However, it does not mean the disease is contagious yellow fever, smallpox, measles, and polio are prime examples of epidemics. It can also refer to a disease or other specific health-related behaviour (such as smoking) if the number of cases is clearly above the expected occurrence in a community or region.

Meanwhile, a disease outbreak is endemic when it is present but limited to a partiodar region making the disease spread and rates predictable. It is also called a baseline. For example malaria is considered endemic in certain countries and regions.

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 A five-year-old girl in Karnataka recently tested positive for Zika virus.

Mosquitoes are notorious for their itchy bites, but what makes them a cause for concern is their ability to carry and spread deadly diseases to humans. Diseases spread by mosquitoes include Zika fever, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, dengue, and malaria. Recently, a five-year-old girl in Karnataka tested positive for zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease.

 The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes species of mosquito. It is transmitted by Aedes aegypti, which bites during the day and is generally found throughout the world.

Though the infection is not serious for most people, it can be dangerous for pregnant women. The infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly, a condition where a baby’s head is much smaller than expected restricting brain growth. Aedes mosquitoes can be distinguished by their narrow, black body, and alternating light and dark bands on the legs.

What we need to do is to be aware of the symptoms of Zika fever and keep ourselves safe. The symptoms of Zika virus are fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint ache, and headache that last about a week.

Avoiding mosquito bites in places where the Zika virus has been reported is a way of preventing the disease. Stay fully covered in the mornings and sleep under a mosquito net during the night if your area is mosquito-prone. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes breed in clean water. So removing stagnant water helps. Keep your clean to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

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In September 2022, Uganda announced its first Ebola fatality since 2019 in an outbreak in the central district of Mubende. But what is Ebola, what causes it, and what are its symptoms? Come, let’s find out….

Ebola is a rare, deadly viral haemorrhagic fever. It was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) in 1976. DR Congo has experienced 14 Ebola outbreaks since then. There are different strains of the virus that are known to affect people. They include Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, Reston and Tai Forest. Death rate among the Ebola-infected people is high ranging up to 90 % in some outbreaks, according to the World Health Organisation.

Spreads from fruit bats?

A species of fruit bat is said to be the most likely source of the disease. People get exposed to the virus if they touch the skin or body fluids of infected bats It’s interesting to note that the infected bats themselves do not fall ill. But how does the virus spread among humans? It is through contact with the blood, body fluids, or secretions of an infected person or one who has just died from the disease. It is said that outbreaks are difficult to contain as people who are infected do not become contagious until symptoms manifest. High contagiousness occurs soon after their deaths, say, during funeral services.

Symptoms of Ebola

The Ebola virus has an incubation period of 2-21 days. High fever, fatigue, severe muscle and joint pain, headache, and sore throat are initial symptoms. As the disease progresses, the virus damages the immune system as well as the organs. Hence, the initial symptoms are often followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, skin eruption, kidney and liver failure, and sometimes internal and external bleeding.

Treatment

Ebola can be diagnosed through tests of blood and tissues. If infection is confirmed in an individual, they should be immediately isolated to prevent the spread of the disease. Currently, there is no cure for Ebola. Two drugs, Inmazeb and Ebanga, have been approved for treating Ebola. Besides, fluids and electrolytes are administered either orally or intravenously, and medications are given to control fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, and other symptoms. Blood transfusions from survivors are done to improve survival. At present, there is the Ervebo vaccine, which is found to be highly effective against the Zaire strain. This is the first Ebola jab approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2019.

QUICK FACTS

* Ebola gets its name from the Ebola River, which is near one of the villages in the DR Congo where the disease first surfaced.

*The worst Ebola epidemic in West Africa between 2013 and 2016 killed more than 11,300 people.

*The DR Congo has had more than a dozen epidemics, the deadliest killing 2,280 people in 2020.

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