Introduction The influenza vaccine is an annual vaccine, typically offered to patients at high risk of seasonal influenza (flu). It is not usually a live vaccine. Modern vaccines typically contain constituents of…
Introduction Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is an infective illness cause by the mosquito-borne arbovirus Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV). It is endemic to the Asia-Pacific region, and recently it has become more…
Organism Leishmania (protozoa) Transmission Via sandflies Leishmania anastigotes infect sandflies when they take them up with their blood meal. Pathogenesis The adult female sand ingests the pathogen in the form…
Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease. Organism mycobacterium leprae = intracellular parasite. Incubation period tuberculoid = 2-5 years lepromatous = 8-11 years Transmission Spread in nasal discharges to the skin…
Leptospirosis: also known as Weil's Disease. Organism Spirochaete bacterium called Leptospira spp incubation: 7-14 days Transmission Via the urine of an infected animal (contagious as long as it is still moist) Rats, mice,…
Lumbar puncture is a procedure conducted to ascertain if there is an acute meningitis or sub arachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), to detect inflammation in the spinal cord (e.g. in multiple sclerosis)…
Organism Borrelia Burgdorferi (spirochaete) Incubation: 7-14 days Transmission Vector=ticks Animal hosts=deer/rodents Epidemiology Commonest vector borne illness in USA Focally endemic in woodland of north America - infections mostly occur in…
Introduction Presentation can be vague, any or all of wide variety of symptoms. Always should be considered in unwell patients returning from or having passed though endemic areas Organism Parasite…
Introduction Measles is a previously common (incidence now greatly reduced due to vaccination) usually childhood infection. Most cases are self-limiting, it is extremely infectious and carries a complication rate of…
Definitions Meningitis – the term meningitis technically means inflammation of the meninges, though it is generally used to mean infection. Meningitis is far more common in infants and children than…