Please give me a good website to find out things about Avian Influenza, Anthrax, Haemorhagic Fevers, Cholera, Hepatits B, Diptheria, HIV, Influenza, Leprosy, Plague, Smallpox, Yellow Fever, and Tetanus; things like their scientific name, symptoms and virulence; known reservoirs and vectors; and their geographic isolation and treatments. You guys would be doing me a HUGE favor. Give me some good websites. I have already used the World Health Organization's website and the Center for Disease Control's website.

also try:
emedicine
medscape

Internally displaced Somali women carry their children as they stand outside their makeshift shelter in the capital Mogadishu

It caught me by surprise, a feeling tugging from the back of my throat. It was completely unexpected. my chest felt constricted. my breathing became shallow and then, I couldn’t see – blinded by my tears.

I was, at a temporary clinic set up by SA charity Gift of the Givers near an overcrowded refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia. for the past five days I’d been reporting for South Africa’s eNews Channel on starving babies, sick babies, babies with measles.

I’d witnessed a litany of medical conditions; TB, gastro, cholera, leprosy, pneumonia – they all jostle for space here. I had looked mothers in the eye as I asked them about the treacherous journeys they’d undertaken for weeks, barefoot and dehydrated.

They told me how they’d buried their children in strange lands along the roads. I felt pity for them, yes, but I didn’t cry. I had stories to file for 13:00 and 19:00 deadlines. I needed to write, edit, do live shots, work with my cameraman, all the while staying alert and alive as sporadic gunfire clamoured just down the street, as common to Mogadishu as a dog’s bark is in suburban Johannesburg.

Then, I met Baby Salamo. She wasn’t nearly as sick as the other babies we had reported on. Her mother wasn’t as shabbily dressed and had a smiling, hopeful face as she watched the Gift of the Givers paediatricians insert an intravenous drip into her daughter’s tiny hand. the baby whimpered, her petite lips circled into a tiny, emaciated yell, and she stretched out her free hand. I reached toward her outstretched hand with my index finger and she gripped it tightly, looking me right in the eye and screaming bloody murder. I was overwhelmed. It all went blurry after that.

The paediatrician continued with his work unperturbed by the weeping wannabe war correspondent. Salamo and I cried together. Her mother looked at me, a concerned look on her face, and rubbed my shoulder affectionately. this kind gesture from a person who had nothing forced another torrent of tears.

Baby Salamo was undergoing the first step to recovery. the doctors rejoiced when the mother, with a panicked look on her face, lifted up her baby to reveal a big wet spot. When a child gives an almighty wail and real tears pop out of her eyes, it’s an achievement because dehydrated babies don’t cry tears. some are so listless they don’t have the energy to do anything other than whimper.

Looking back now, I’m not sure if it was the kindness of the doctors, dieticians, paramedics, and nurses that pushed me over the edge that day. Everyone was so tired and emotionally exhausted I assumed they had gone (like me) into robotic mode.

Then, I noticed Ismail Vawda fussing over Baby Salamo, chatting patiently via translator to her concerned mother, finding out if she was still breastfeeding and what the baby’s symptoms were. the young doctor looked so concerned and so sincere. then it dawned on me. this man, dressed in his Islamic “topee” hat, scrubs and beard, who looked more like a kindly Papa Smurf than a paediatrician in a warzone, really did care about this baby. They all do.

The tender way they assess these patients, you soon realise is not a mechanical act learned from some textbook. the joy they feel when a tiny patient starts to respond and begins to perk as the IV fluid runs into its veins, is all real. I struggled to believe the reality of it – here are people who are giving everything, asking for nothing and seeing genuine pleasure in their patients’ recovery. these medical practitioners are all volunteers, taking either special leave or vacation leave to make the trip.

It is one thing to pray, but it is another to help and then pray. to have unwavering faith. – this is an abridged version. Free African Media

Mycobacteria are abundant in soil and water but are more infamous for the diseases that they can cause. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is perhaps the most well known member of the group and is the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. however, there are other species of mycobacteria, for example Mycobacterium leprae causes leprosy, Mycobacterium bovis causes tuberculosis in cattle, Mycobacterium avium causes disease in immunocompromised people, Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a strain of Mycobacterium bovis used as a vaccine and Mycobacterium smegmatis is a non-pathogenic species used in laboratory research. (Reference: Mycobacterium: Genomics and Molecular Biology ISBN: 978-1-904455-40-0)About one-third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis, although the infection is latent because the immune system is usually able to control the Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. About 10% of infected people become ill with an active form of tuberculosis.Latent tuberculosis infection is when a person is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis but does not have symptoms of disease. they are said to be asymptomatic. Active tuberculosis disease is the full-blown disease which, if not treated, will kill half of the patients. one in ten latent infections will progress to active tuberculosis disease. Typical symptoms of an active tuberculosis patient include weakness, fever, chest pain, respiratory insufficiency, fever and cough. Strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis have become multidrug-resistant making the disease particularly difficult to treat. Treatment includes chemotherapy and a combination of different types of drug. Tuberculosis is spread by infective particles produced through coughing by patients with active tuberculosis. the air-borne particles carrying the bacteria can be inhaled by other people.Leprosy is a disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, a bacterium related to the species that causes tuberculosis. in medical terms, leprosy is described as a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract. Skin lesions are the main visible symptoms. According to the World Health Organization as many as three million people have been disabled due to leprosy. in recent years, leprosy has become a problem in HIV patients using anti-retroviral drugs.different species of Mycobacterium cause tuberculosis, leprosy and other illneses. Mycobacterium is a genus of Actinobacteria, given its own family, the Mycobacteriaceae. Much scientific research is being conducted on these microorganisms. in particular much effort is being directed to the understanding of the genome of Mycobacterium with a view to developing and improving strategies for treatment. (Reference: Mycobacterium: Genomics and Molecular Biology ISBN: 978-1-904455-40-0)