| altitude sickness | A condition that results from prolonged exposure to high altitude. Symptoms include a continuous dry cough, shortness of breath, poor exercise tolerance, dizziness, headache, sleep difficulty, anorexia, confusion, fatigue and a rapid pulse. Treatment includes the immediate movement to a lower altitude. Prophylaxis has been accomplished successfully with the use of acetazolamide (Diamox). (27 Sep 1997) |
|---|---|
| balloon sickness | A form of mountain sickness occurring in someone as a result of ascent in a balloon. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black sickness | A chronic disease, occurring in India, Assam, China, the area formerly known as the Mediterranean littoral areas, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, China, South and Central America, Asia, Africa caused by Leishmania donovani and transmitted by the bite of an appropriate species of sandfly of the genus Phlebotomus or Lutzomyia; the organisms grow and multiply in macrophages, eventually causing them to burst and liberate amastigote parasites which then invade other macrophages; proliferation of macrophages in the bone marrow causes crowding out of erythroid and myeloid elements, resulting in leukopenia, and anaemia, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly which are characteristic, along with enlargement of lymph nodes; fever, fatigue, malaise, and secondary infections also occur; different strains of leishmaniasis donovani occur; leishmaniasis infantum in Eurasia, leishmaniasis chagasi in Latin America. Synonym: Assam fever, black sickness, Burdwan fever, cachectic fever, Dumdum fever, kala azar, tropical splenomegaly. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bush sickness | Anaemia of sheep and cattle due to deficiency of cobalt. (05 Mar 2000) |
| caisson sickness | Disease caused by rapid decompression. So named since it appeared in workers building tunnels or supports for bridges working in enclosed units under high atmospheric pressure to keep out surrounding water, called caissons. See: decompression sickness. (05 Mar 2000) |
| radiation sickness | A systemic condition caused by substantial whole-body irradiation, seen after nuclear explosions or accidents, rarely after radiotherapy. Manifestations depend on dose, ranging from anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and mild leukopenia, to thrombocytopenia with haemorrhage, severe leukopenia with infection, anaemia, central nervous system damage, and death. Synonym: radiation poisoning. (05 Mar 2000) |
| railroad sickness | An acute disease seen in cattle and sheep during and shortly after shipping; it appears most often in females in advanced pregnancy and is believed to be precipitated by stress, lack of food and water, and perhaps heat. Synonym: railroad disease, railroad sickness. (05 Mar 2000) |
| car sickness | A form of motion sickness caused by riding on a train or in an automobile or bus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cave sickness | Histoplasmosis acquired by inhalation of organism Histoplasma capulatum in caves (spelunking) or mine shafts containing bird roosts or bats, prime conditions for growth of the organisms. (05 Mar 2000) |
| green sickness | Yellowing or bleaching of plant tissues due to the loss of chlorophyll or failure of chlorophyll synthesis. Symptomatic of many plant diseases, also of deficiencies of light or certain nutrients. (18 Nov 1997) |
| green tobacco sickness | An illness of tobacco harvest workers characterised by headache, dizziness and vomiting. (05 Mar 2000) |
| chronic African sleeping sickness | A chronic disease of humans caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in northern and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Sudan and Uganda; characterised by splenomegaly, drowsiness, an uncontrollable urge to sleep, and the development of psychotic changes; basal ganglia and cerebellar involvement commonly lead to chorea and athetosis; the terminal phase of the disease is characterised by wasting, anorexia, and emaciation that gradually leads to coma and death, usually from intercurrent infection. Synonym: chronic African sleeping sickness, chronic trypanosomiasis, West African sleeping sickness, West African trypanosomiasis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| chronic mountain sickness | Loss of high altitude tolerance after prolonged exposure (e.g., by residence), characterised by extreme polycythemia, exaggerated hypoxaemia, and reduced mental and physical capacity; relieved by descent. Synonym: altitude erythraemia, chronic soroche, Monge's disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| milk sickness | An acute, often fatal disease caused by the ingestion of milk, milk products, or the flesh of cattle or sheep which have a disease known as trembles. It is marked by weakness, anorexia, vomiting, constipation, and sometimes muscular tremors. It is caused by poisoning by white snakeroot (eupatorium rugosum) and the rayless goldenrod (haplopappus heterophyllus). (12 Dec 1998) |
| West African sleeping sickness | A chronic disease of humans caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in northern and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Sudan and Uganda; characterised by splenomegaly, drowsiness, an uncontrollable urge to sleep, and the development of psychotic changes; basal ganglia and cerebellar involvement commonly lead to chorea and athetosis; the terminal phase of the disease is characterised by wasting, anorexia, and emaciation that gradually leads to coma and death, usually from intercurrent infection. Synonym: chronic African sleeping sickness, chronic trypanosomiasis, West African sleeping sickness, West African trypanosomiasis. (05 Mar 2000) |