There are certain mortal diseases Which, to this day and despite advances in technology and medicine, can not yet be cured and offer little chance of survival.
To the best of our ability it is only treating the symptoms of the sick to reduce their suffering. Many of these diseases are part of national and international lists of compulsory disease, because they are highly contagious. Below we describe 25 of them:
1- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
It is a prion disease. A prion is a protein that forms aberrant molecules. These cells affect the brain And the Nervous system of humans and the animals.
This disease affects the elderly. According to statistics, the majority of the victims were 60 years or older. 90% of patients die within a year. Some symptoms are involuntary movements of legs and arms, memory problems, blindness and others.
2- Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS)
It is another prion disease that affects the human being from the 30 to 70 years. Scientists have detected that this disease can be hereditary, since certain genetic mutations are necessary to get the disease.
The prion protein affects chromosome 20. Symptoms may begin to appear from the age of 25-30. A sick person can survive between 3 months and 15 years. The disease affects from speech to dementia.
3- Sleep disease
African human trypanosomiasis is a disease that mainly afflicts sub-Saharan Africa and is transmitted by the bite of the tse-tse fly.
Countries are required to report cases to the World Health Organization. In 2013, 6,314 cases were declared. The disease has two phases: hemolymphatic and neurological. In the last phase of the disease, people fall into a coma.
4- Malta fever
Also called brucellosis, is a disease caused by bacteria of gender Brucella And is transmitted from other animals to humans. According to statistics, it mainly affects those who work with animals or with infected meat.
The disease was discovered and described by David Bruce In 1887. There are treatments for this disease, the problem is that it is difficult to diagnose because of its multiple symptoms. About 30% of the cases are local, ie they affect a single organ or an apparatus.
5- Ebola
It is a virus that can be contracted through the exchange of body fluids. There are 5 species of Ebola virus. The mortality rate of this disease, especially in Africa, is very high and there is no specific treatment for it.
Doctors to save the patient, try to keep him hydrated. In 2015 the World Health Organization stated that it has developed a vaccine, and this is already being implemented experimentally.
6- Kala-azar disease
Or visceral leishmaniosis, is produced by a protozoan. Its annual mortality rate is high, reaching up to half a million victims. There are two types of this disease: Leishmania donovani (Africa and India) and Leishmania infantum (Europe, North Africa and Latin America). Symptoms include fever, anemia , Enlargement of the spleen and liver.
7- Marburg hemorrhagic fever
It is usually confused with Ebola because its symptoms are clinically indistinguishable. The virus that causes the disease is endemic to Equatorial Africa. There is no treatment for this disease and doctors basically beat their symptoms and other illnesses that can contract the patient because their immune system weakens. Its mortality rate is 69-70%.
8- Encephalitis
It is the inflammation of the encephalon. It is important to remember that the brain is only part of the brain. The encephalitis Is a set of diseases, all with different causes, but with common symptoms.
Lethargic encephalitis is an atypical form of this disease that caused epidemics that killed millions in the 20th century. The survivors were in a catatonic state, that is of incosciencia.
9- Arbovirus Encephalitis
It is one of the most dangerous types of encephalitis. An arbovirus is a virus that is trapped by stings or access to the blood of the victim of an arthropod. The disease is classified by the vector or agent that transmits it. For example, Japanese encephalitis or tick-borne encephalitis.
10- Malignant Anthrax
Or anthrax, is a contagious and acute disease. There are different types of carbundo, for example cutaneous anthrax and pulmonary carbundo. Depending on the affected organ or device, the treatment is determined.
The mortality rate in each variant also varies, and the pulmonary carbon is almost always lethal. In humans the contagion is cutaneous (by the skin) or by ingestion.
This disease can be cured if treated early. Anthrax has been used in biological warfare.
11- Chagas Disease
It is endemic to America and its high mortality rate is due to inattention. The WHO considers it a disease of poverty and one of the most neglected in the world. The disease was discovered and described by the Brazilian Carlos Chagas In 1909.
This parasitic disease is considered the third infectious disease in Latin America, after AIDS and tuberculosis. This disease is transmitted by vectors and the best policy against it is prevention.
Chronic Chagas has no cure, while common Chagas can be treated with medications. Still the cure rate is 60-70%.
GRACELI Syndrome
There are diseases closely related to DNA and heredity. For example, diseases of Finnish inheritance, which may also occur in other parts of the world, but mostly occurring in Finland can be lethal.
The GRACILE Syndrome is due to a mutation in the human chromosome. It affects newborn babies, who die when they reach 4 or 5 months of age because of it. The disease has no cure.
13- Congenital lethal contracture syndrome
Another disease of Finnish inheritance is lethal congenital contracture syndrome or LCCS. This disease causes the total immobility of the fetus from 12 weeks of pregnancy, which can lead to the death of the fetus. This disease is caused by a mutation on chromosome 9.
14- Black Death
Yersinia pestis is the bacterium that causes the disease known as Black Death. Different historical sources describe how epidemics of this disease ended the lives of millions of people.
The first reference to this disease is the Justinian Plague in the 6th Century. Among the epidemics of this disease can be mentioned the Italian Plague, The Epidemic of 194, The Great Plague of Vienna, among others.
15- Other types of black plague
The Black Plague has 4 variants: bubonic, septicemic, pneumonic and neurological. Pneumonic and neurological pests are complications of septicemia.
Bubonic plague is the most common. There is a treatment for Bubonic Plague, but for other forms it is not effective. Bubonic plague is produced by the bite of an infected rat, plus septicemic plague occurs as a complication of bubonic plague and pulmonary plague, which can affect the patient's blood.
16- Smallpox
Smallpox was considered until the 1970s, as a virus that could be deadly. It was only treated with vaccination and inoculation. The virus was eradicated thanks to the WHO, for a proposal of Viktor Zhdanov , The Deputy Minister of Health of the Soviet Union, organized a worldwide campaign.
The latest death from the virus occurred in Britain, when photographer Janet Parker became infected due to poor handling in 1978. There are two cryogenic virus samples stored in the United States and the Soviet Union.
17- Glanders disease
In Africa, South America and Asia glanders continue to be life-threatening. This typical disease of horses is transmitted to humans and can have 4 forms, three of them almost lethal (septicemic, chronic and pulmonary). Its treatment is based on antibiotics (sulfadiazine and streptomycin).
Among the measures of prevention is the slaughter of infected animals. This measure eradicated the disease in Europe and the United States.
18- Primary amebian meningoencephalitis (MAP)
It is a deadly disease caused by an amoeba. It affects the nervous system by destroying its cells and replacing them with dead cells. Infected people usually die at 2 weeks. Among the symptoms of the disease is the loss of smell.
The high mortality rate is because it is difficult to diagnose patients the spread of the disease is rapid. It can be treated by administering an intravenous antifungal to the patient. (Fungal - of the fungus or related to it).
19- Rabbit fever
It is an endemic disease in North America, Asia and Europe. A bacterium is responsible for the disease and the rabbits are only carriers of it.
In 1911 it was described in California during an outbreak that affected cooks, hunters and farmers. It is not necessary to isolate the patients, since the disease is not transmitted directly. Although it can be treated with antibiotics, the mortality rate is still high.
20- Fatal family insomnia
It is a prion and hereditary disease, which is due to the mutation of chromosome 20. This mutation causes an abnormal production of proteins in the brain that affects its activity and causes degeneration.
This disease is present throughout the world, but almost half of the cases are recorded in Navarre and the Basque Country, where the mutation of this gene is common. Symptoms include insomnia, difficulty speaking, changes in the vegetative system, fever, weight loss, excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis), and tachycardia.
21- Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
It is a disease caused by a coronavirus that was first detected in 2002 in China. The way in which this disease spreads is still unclear, although it is clear that it is transmitted by direct contact between people.
It is important to emphasize that the disease is not contracted by indirect contact, that is to say that this disease can not be transmitted by postal items (letters, packages, press...).
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an infectious disease that affects the airways, causing arteries in the throat and causing shock (fever, restlessness), which can lead to death. It usually affects children under 5 years and adults over 60 years. There are two variants of this disease: one affects the throat and nose and another the skin.
There is a treatment, which can be effective if the disease has not caused major complications. For example, diphtheria toxoid is combined with tetanus and whooping cough. It is important to note that people who are cured of the disease continue to be carriers and must be cured of the virus completely so that they do not infect others.
23- Lassa fever
It is a very common hemorrhagic fever in West Africa. It is transmitted by the contact of body fluids. Its name is because it appeared and was first described in Lassa, Nigeria. In Africa, this disease causes many deaths because of the failure to take adequate precautions for treatment. Treatment is based on ribavirin.
24- Leptospirosis
Also known as Weil's disease, it is a disease that is produced by a bacterium and that transmit the animals to the human being. This disease was first described in 1907.
This infection causes depression , Vomiting, bleeding, and poor appetite. This disease is treated with penicillin. There are also vaccines against this disease. Despite this, chronic leptopyose is still a disease that causes many deaths a year, mainly in developing countries.
25- Fulminating purpura
Fulminant purpura is an infectious disease that develops rapidly. It is more common in children than in adults. It causes violet spots on the skin, fever and decay. When the disease progresses, it causes circulatory insufficiency and blood pressure.
All this causes disorders in the coagulation, convulsions, and imbalances of the metabolism. In the end the victims fall into a coma.
There are 3 vaccines against this disease, although in places where the vaccine is not provided the infant mortality from this disease remains high.