Disease is abnormal mental and physical state of a person. It can be defined as a “condition or state which interferes with the normal functioning of the body and impairs the health.”
Disease can be caused due to various reasons. Every disease has characteristic symptoms through which we can identify the types of disease.
Types of diseases:
- Deficiency disease: This type of diseases is caused by lack of essential dietary elements like minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins. Name of various deficiency diseases with the symptoms are given below-
Name of disease Defficiency Symptom Night blindness Vitamin A Blurry or cloudy vision at night or in poor light Dermatosis Vitamin A Skin disease Beriberi Vitamin B (thiamin) Muscle weakness, swelling and pain in legs, enlarged legs Scurvy Vitamin C(ascorbic acid) Bleeding gums, loose teeth, dry and damaged skin Rickets Vitamin D Pain in arm bone,legs, pelvis, deformed skull, pelvis and limbs in children Goiter Iodine Swelling of neck, coughing Anemia Hemoglobin(Iron) Weakness and pale skin Hypokalemia Potassium Weakness, kidney damage - Hereditary disease : These are inborn disease present in an individual from birth. These are mainly caused by the genetic disorders or defects. For example: AIDS, Diabetes etc.
- Infectious disease: This type of disease is caused by specific pathogenic organisms and capable of being transmitted to another person by direct or indirect contact i.e. through air, food, water, etc.These are further classified into several types on the basis of the causative organisms
Viral diseases Caused by virus Bacterial diseases Caused by bacteria Fungal diseases Caused by fungus Protozoal diseases Caused by protozoa Helminthic diseases Caused by worms
Disease & causative agents
| Causative agents | Diseases |
| Virus | AIDS, Influnenza, Rabies,Chicken pox,Measles, yellow fever,mumps, Poliomyelitis, Dengue fever etc. |
| Bacteria | Typhoid, Diphtheria,Cholera,Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Plague, Whooping cough etc. |
| Fungus | Ringworms, Madura foot, Dhobi’s itch etc. |
| Protozoa | Malaria, Kalazar,Sickness,Leishmaniasis, Amoebic dysentery etc. |
| Worms(tape worm, roundworm, filaria worm) | Taeniasis,Ascariasis,Filariasis |
- Communicable disease.
Communicable diseases are spread through contact with blood and bodily fluids, being bitten by an insect etc.
| NAME OF DISEASE | CAUSE | TRANSMISSION |
| Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) | Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) | Sexual relation, blood transfusion, sharing of syringes |
| Chicken pox | varicella-zoster virus | Infected person |
| Cholera | Vibrio cholerae | Contaminated water and seafood |
| Malaria | Plasmodium protozoa | Bite from an infected mosquito |
| Measles | Rubella virus | Droplet infection |
| Typhoid | Salmonella typhi | Droplet spread |
| Common cold | Numerous viruses | Respiratory droplets of infected person |
| Diphtheria | Corynebacterium diphtheriae | Respiratory secretion and saliva of infected person |
| Gonorrhea | Neisseria gonorrhoeae or gonococcus | Vaginal secretion of infected person |
| Influenza | Numerous viruses | Direct contact, respiratory droplets |
| Poliomyelitis | Polio virus | Direct contact with nasopharyngeal secretions of infected person, vomit |
| Rabies | Virus | Bite from rabid animal |
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