Infectious Diseases and HIV Conference

Rare infectious diseases can be described as illnesses caused by uncommon or emerging pathogens that affect a small percentage of the population. Many such diseases remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

They take long to transmit and are difficult to diagnose. This is after some rare infectious diseases are influenced by unusual bacteria, fungi, or viruses, while others relate to neglected tropical diseases or zoonotic infections transmitted from animals to human beings.

Rare infectious diseases include diseases such as melioidosis, which is an infection due to the bacterium Burkholderia pseudo mallei from soil and water; Changes disease, a parasitic infection endemic to Central and South America; and Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a more severe respiratory illness due to rodents.

Rare fungal infections, such as mucormycosis and coccidioidomycosis, also produce significant health risks. These include especially immunocompromised patients.

Another vital factor in rare infectious diseases is emerging pathogens, such as new or emerging pathogens that might lead to outbreaks and cause high morbidity and mortality; recent outbreaks related to Ebola, Lassa fever, and Marburg virus diseases point out the aspect of preparedness in contrast to emerging infectious threats globally.

The challenges in diagnosis of uncommon infectious diseases lie both in the rarity of the disease and the poor knowledge on the part of the health worker. The symptoms that could be presented are fever, malaise, muscle pain, and difficulty breathing, similar to those common diseases.

The diagnosis should be supported with superior molecular techniques, serological tests, and imaging procedures. Treatments for rare infectious diseases are mostly agents-specific.

Some infections require specific antimicrobial therapies or antifungal treatments, but others require supportive care plus managements of complications.

A particular rare disease or group of such diseases can often be prevented with vaccination, vector control, and public health education for certain diseases.

As these are relatively rare infectious diseases, they are discussed with more research efforts, advanced diagnostic tools, and worldwide collaboration to better understand the conditions and the relevant therapy.

Increased awareness may help detect these conditions earlier in life, thus increasing the chances of survival in those affected by these less common but perhaps even more hazardous infections.