Infectious diseases

• Main Authors: Wyatt, Jonathan P., Taylor, Robert G., de Wit, Kerstin, Hotton, Emily J., Illingworth, Robin J., Robertson, Colin E.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University Press 2020
• Subjects: Avian flu
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/med/9780198784197.003.0005

This chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Emergency Medicine discusses infectious diseases in the emergency department (ED). It starts by examining the general subjects of incubation periods, notifiable infectious diseases, and childhood diseases. It goes on to explore specific diseases, including meningitis, acute encephalitis, herpes simplex virus, herpes varicella-zoster, Zika virus, gastroenteritis/food poisoning, fish poisoning, infestations, tuberculosis, anthrax, streptococcal infections, staphylococcal infections, tetanus, gas gangrene, botulism, sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis, leptospirosis (Weil’s disease), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It discusses imported infectious diseases, such as malaria, typhoid and paratyphoid (enteric fever), dengue, poliomyelitis, rabies, viral haemorrhagic fevers, and severe acute respiratory syndrome, before looking at influenza pandemics, avian flu, and swine flu.