C Illness Details
Campylobacter
What is it?
Campylobacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Campylobacter.
Symptoms
Most people who become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever within 2 to 5 days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The illness typically lasts 1 week.
Transmission
Most cases of campylobacteriosis are associated with handling raw poultry or eating raw or undercooked poultry meat.
Additional Information
Cestoda infection
What is it?
Cestoda is the class of parasitic flatworms, commonly called tapeworms, that live in the digestive tract of vertebrates as adults and often in the bodies of various animals as juveniles.
Symptoms
Some of the conditions and symptoms that tapeworms can cause include the following: mineral imbalances, abnormal thyroid function, intestinal gas, blood sugar imbalances, bloating, jaundice, fluid buildup, dizziness, fuzzy thinking, hunger pains, poor digestion, allergies, sensitivity to touch, weight changes, and symptoms of pernicious anemia.
Transmission
Human infection comes as a result of eating insufficiently cooked meat (especially beef, pork, and fish), where the larvae are buried in the tissues of the animal involved. The fleas of both dogs and cats can also transmit tapeworm larvae.
Additional Information
Chagas' Disease (American Trypanosomiasis)
What is it?
It is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi
Transmission
It is transmitted to animals and people by insect vectors that are found only in the Americas (mainly, in rural areas of Latin America where poverty is widespread)
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Chickenpox (Varicella)
What is it?
Chickenpox is caused by a virus called varicella zoster. People who get the virus often develop a rash of spots that look like blisters all over their bodies.
Symptoms
The Symptoms noted by the patient can include fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and vomiting. The signs on physical examination can include mild enlargement of the liver or spleen, swollen glands, and local swelling (a chagoma) where the parasite entered the body.
Transmission
In Chagas-endemic areas, the main way is through vectorborne Transmission. The insect vectors are called triatomine bugs. These blood-sucking bugs get infected by biting an infected animal or person. Once infected, the bugs pass T. cruzi parasites in their feces.
Additional Information
Chikungunya Fever
What is it?
Chikungunya virus is a member of the genus Alphavirus, in the family Togaviridae.
Symptoms
Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, rash, and joint pain.
Transmission
Chikungunya fever is a viral disease transmitted to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes.
Additional Information
Cholera
What is it?
Cholera is an acute infectious disease which lives and colonizes in the small intestine, but does not destroy or invade the intestinal tissue. Without treatment, death can occur in hours.
Symptoms
Massive watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. Rapid loss of body fluids leads to dehydration and shock.
Transmission
Drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacterium. The source of the contamination is usually feces of an infected person. The cholera bacterium may also live in brackish rivers and coastal waters. Raw shellfish have been a source of cholera. The disease is not likely to spread from one person to another.
Additional Information
Ciguatera poisoning
What is it?
Ciguatera is a form of human poisoning caused by the consumption of subtropical and tropical marine finfish which have accumulated naturally occurring toxins through their diet.
Symptoms
Manifestations of ciguatera in humans usually involves a combination of gastrointestinal, neurological, and cardiovascular disorders. Symptoms defined within these general categories vary with the geographic origin of toxic fish.
Transmission
Populations in tropical/subtropical regions are most likely to be affected because of the frequency of exposure to toxic fishes. However, the increasing per capita consumption of fishery products coupled with an increase in interregional transportation of seafood products has expanded the geographic range of human poisonings.
Additional Information
Cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium infection)
What is it?
Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrheal disease caused by microscopic parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium.
Symptoms
Appear from two to ten days after infection and last for up to two weeks or so. As well as watery diarrhea, there is often stomach pains or cramps and a low fever.
Transmission
This parasite can be transmitted in several different ways, yet water is a common method of Transmission and Cryptosporidium is one of the most frequent causes of waterborne disease (drinking water and recreational water) among humans in the United States.
Additional Information
Coccidioidomycosis
What is it?
Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley Fever, is a fungal disease caused by Coccidioides species. These organisms live in the soil of semiarid areas. It is endemic in areas such as the southwestern United States,
parts of Mexico and South America.
Symptoms
About 60% of infections do not cause any Symptoms. People who develop Symptoms may experience a flu-like illness, with fever, cough, headache, rash and muscle aches.
Transmission
People get infected with Coccidioides by inhaling fungal spores that become airborne after disturbance of contaminated soil by humans or natural disasters (e.g., dust storms and earthquakes).
Additional Information
Cyclosporiasis (Cyclospora infection)
What is it?
Is a parasite composed of one cell, too small to be seen without a microscope.
Symptoms
Usually causes watery diarrhea, with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements. Other symptoms can include loss of appetite, substantial loss of weight, bloating, increased gas, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches, low-grade fever, and fatigue.
Transmission
Transmitted by feces or feces-contaminated fresh produce and water.
Additional Information
