Coeliac Disease is something which affects many people but which is not widely understood or discussed. It is a medical condition which affects the gut and digestive system of the sufferer and which people can be genetically pre-disposed to. The disease often runs in families, due to the genetic predisposition of the condition. However, it can be brought on through environmental factors at any point in one’s life. Coeliac Disease is most prevalent in British people, with 1 in 100 diagnosed. Italy is the next country with a high prevalence rate of 1 in 250 people. Those living in other countries but of British or Italian descent can find themselves more likely to develop it due to the genetic link. The condition is very rare in those of African, Chinese or Japanese descent. When an individual who is pre-disposed to Coeliac Disease eats a product containing gluten, damage is done to the lining of their small intestine. The body sees gluten as harmful and so attacks it and the villi, or lining of the intestine, which are shaped like small fingers, become flattened and this results in scar tissue being formed. This scar tissue is then not able to absorb nutrients and goodness from food, such as vital vitamins and minerals. The disturbance to the digestive system can also result in bowel problems, such as diarrhoea in addition to malnutrition. Gluten is a protein and a common ingredient in such food stuffs as wheat, barley, rye and oats. Unfortunately for sufferers there is no medicine available to relieve their symptoms. The only way to reduce, and possibly eliminate, the symptoms is to ensure that they follow a strict gluten-free diet for the rest of their life. For the majority of patients a gluten-free diet will prevent further damage to the intestines and give them the opportunity to heal to an extent, if not wholly, dependent on the length of time they have been eating a normal diet before switching to gluten-free. Other patients may not be as lucky, and may find that the damage is irreversible or aggravated by other ingredients such as eggs or dairy produce. These sufferers are certainly in the minority. A gluten-free diet can be difficult to follow as it is present in all manner of food stuffs. The diagnosis of the disease in most people is during childhood, particularly if other members of the family are already diagnosed. This can be hard for a teenager to deal with, particularly when eating out or at the home of a friend. However, it is important for sufferers to accept that they will not be able to get over the disease but can manage it better if they stick to the special diet. As awareness of the disease grows, so does the availability of gluten-free food. It is now possible to buy gluten-free pasta, bread, muffins and bagels, which are all normally of the menu for a sufferer of Coeliac Disease. When eating out it is important to remember that seemingly innocuous foods such as soup may have a wheat based thickener in them, thus ruling them out of a gluten-free diet. Some restaurants now offer a gluten-free menu, but if you don’t have that option the safest choice is to head to an Asian inspired restaurant such as Thai, Japanese or Indian as there are more gluten-free options available on their menus as standard.

Myasthenia Gravis – «is a neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating weakness and fatiguability.» Myasthenia Gravis is a latin term meaning «grave muscle weekness». This disease is famous as an autoimmune disorder. Being so widely known, doctors have researched and found out many of the disease mechanisms and symptoms. In almost all cases, the diagnosed will suffer from massive muscle fatigue when participating in any sort of physical activity. When at rest, however, this symptom will not be evident. Myasthenia Gravis does not favour any particular muscle to fatigue. In fact it has been known to happen to muscles that chew, control eyelid and eye movement, talk, control facial expressions, swallowing, and even sometimes the muscles that control limb and neck movement, as well as breathing. Most people at least suffer from muscle fatigue when swallowing, making facial expressions, and moving their eyes and eyelids. This particular disease is somewhat difficult to diagnose. The symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis are alike many other nuerological disorders, and even normal occurences. If all symptoms of Myasthenia are present then it is clear, but if not, even testing can be very inaccurate. Testing for this disorder is restricted to the eye muscles, and is only 50% accurate, at best. Luckily, if the symptoms are minor, and the disease is not able to be diagnosed, it really isnt to bad. Muscle fatigue is something that people have to live with if they are simply regular gym-goers. If the symptoms are fierce, and the disease is diagnosed, then treatment can begin immediatly.

The Avian flu is a virus carried by birds and spread through their feces and other secretions. Those most at risk are people who come into contact with infected birds. Of the people who have been infected, many are from families that keep chickens around the home. There have been no signs of the Bird Flu in the United States as yet, and the virus is not easily transmitted from birds to humans. However, once confined to Asia, the Bird Flu has now been identified in other countries. Those that have been diagnosed with the Bird Flu have been in close contact with the infected poultry. A trial vaccine is being developed for the Bird Flu, however since the virus is constantly changing there will have to be a vaccine created to the specific strain that is spreading. Bird flu in poultry does not pose any food safety risk because it is unlikely a sick chicken would be slaughtered for consumption, and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs would kill the virus. Dr Judith Hilton, the head of microbiological safety at Britain’s Food Standards Agency, said salmonella poses more of a risk to consumers than bird flu. She added that people generally get flu through the respiratory system, not from what they eat. Dr. Hilton advises thorough cooking of poultry meat and eggs. If you cook your poultry and your eggs thoroughly, you would get rid of any viruses present. The symptoms of the Bird flu are common flu like symptoms: Fever Aches Pains Chills Sore throat Diarrhea Respiratory disease Pneumonia Precautions that should be taken are avoiding contact with live poultry. Do not keep live poultry at your residence. If you do come in contact with live poultry wash your hands very thoroughly. If you suspect you have come in contact with poultry and have flu like symptoms see your doctor immediately.

Tuberculosis, a bacterial infection, most commonly affects the lungs. Tuberculosis can also affect the central nervous system, lymphatic system, circulatory system, genitourinary system, bones and joints. Often Called TB for short, tuberculosis is the most common major infectious disease today. With that title the virus is infecting two billion people which is approximately one-third of the world’s population. Nine million new cases of active disease annually, resulting in two million deaths. Most of these cases and deaths are in developing countries. Ninenty percent of those that are infected have asymptomatic latent TB infection (LTBI). This is alot of numbers: There is a ten percent chance that in the lifetime of LTBI that it will progress to active TB disease. This active disease if left untreated, will kill more than fifty percent of its victims. All of these numbers maketuberculosisone of the top three infectious killing diseases in the world. HIV/AIDS kills 3 million people each year, TB kills 2 million, and malaria kills 1 million. Tuberculosis is caused by a slow-growing aerobic bacterium that divides every 16 to 20 hours. This division is extremely slow when compared to other bacteria, which tend to have division times that are measured in minutes. In many patients the infection of Tuberculosis waxes and wanes. Treatment with appropriate antibiotics kills bacteria and allows healing to take place. Areas where Tuberculosis has affected will eventually be replaced by scar tissue. A complete medical evaluation for Tuberculosis includes a medical history, a physical examination, a tuberculin skin test, a serological test, a chest X-ray, and microbiologic smears and cultures. This is quite an extensive procedure as you can see, but if you look at the numbers above it is a necessary process.