A Simple Guide to Insect-Borne Diseases, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Different insects can produce severe diseases that can cause death such as dengue hemorrhagic fever, malaria especially in children, fetal deaths in zika infected pregnant women, and the Black Death (plague) in the middle ages.

Insect-borne diseases are viral and bacterial diseases from insect bites.

The most frequent insects that transmit disease are mosquitoes, sand flies, ticks, and fleas.

Mosquitoes are famous for spreading the Dengue virus, Zika virus, Chikungunya virus, Yellow Fever, and Malaria.

Aedes
1. Chikungunya
2. Dengue
3. Lymphatic filariasis
4. Rift Valley fever
5. Yellow Fever
6. Zika
Anopheles
1. Lymphatic filariasis
2. Malaria
Culex
1. Japanese encephalitis
2. Lymphatic filariasis
3. West Nile fever

Ticks are famous for spreading Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
1. Lyme disease
2. Rocky Mountain spotted fever
3. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever
4. Relapsing fever (borreliosis)

Fleas are famous for spreading the Bubonic Plaque (Black Death) to humans in the middle ages
1. Plague (transmitted from rats to humans)

Lice are common in unhygienic people who do not shower and wear dirty unhealthy clothing.
1. Typhus

Sandflies tend to bite people at beaches.
1. Leishmaniasis

Tsetse fly can transmit trypanosomes to humans through its bite causing Sleeping Sickness
1. Sleeping sickness

Chagas disease, a leading cause of cardiomyopathy in the world is spread by kissing bugs.
1. Chagas disease

The diseases are produced by blood-sucking insects that infect humans when they bite the person.

The patient increases the danger of being infected by an insect when the patient is in areas where they gather.

This environment would involve tall grass, bushes, spots near still water (ponds), beaches and places around the globe with heavy outbreaks.

Symptoms will differ depending upon the type of insect that bit the person:
1. Fever
2. Chills
3. Headache
5. Sore muscles
6. Skin rash
7. Nausea
8. Abdominal pain

More serious symptoms can be:
1. Difficulty breathing
2. The feeling that the throat is closing
3. Swelling of the lips, tongue or the face
4. Chest pain
5. A racing heartbeat that lasts more than a few minutes
6. Dizziness
7. Vomiting

The doctor can normally diagnose an insect-borne disease with a physical examination, a review of the symptoms, and the history of the recent travel.

Laboratory tests (blood and urine) can assist in diagnosing certain insect-borne diseases.

As soon as the patient recognizes a bite, he or she should clean it with soap and water.

The patient should pat it dry and apply rubbing alcohol.

If the patient was bitten by a tick, he or she should remove the tick away before cleaning the area.

The patient should use tweezers to slowly pull it off the skin.

The patient should be careful not to leave any part of the tick on the skin.

The patient should wash the hands and the bite area with soap and water and wipe with alcohol.

The patient should apply an over-the-counter antibiotic cream to the bite area.

If the patient has any of the symptoms above, he or she should see the doctor.

The doctor may give the patient a prescription for antibiotic medicine.

The over-the-counter pain medicine can alleviate sore muscles and a fever.

Death in insect-borne diseases happens in dengue fever, malaria, zika (fetus) and plague.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Insect-borne Diseases
Chapter 2 Malaria (Updated)
Chapter 3 Dengue Fever (Updated)
Chapter 4 Yellow Fever (Updated)
Chapter 5 Lyme Disease (Updated)
Chapter 6 Sleeping Sickness (Updated)
Chapter 7 Filiarisis (Updated)
Chapter 8 Zika (Updated)
Chapter 9 Chikungunya (Updated)
Chapter 10 Pl

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: May 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005050139

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Insect-Borne Diseases,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2022 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Insect-Borne Diseases, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Insect-Borne Diseases)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Insect-Borne Diseases

Different insects can produce severe diseases that can cause death such as dengue hemorrhagic fever, malaria especially in children, fetal deaths in zika infected pregnant women, and the Black Death (plague) in the middle ages.

What are insect-borne diseases?

Insect-borne diseases are viral and bacterial diseases from insect bites.

The most frequent insects that transmit disease are mosquitoes, sand flies, ticks, and fleas.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are famous for spreading the Dengue virus, Zika virus, Chikungunya virus, Yellow Fever, and Malaria.

Aedes

1. Chikungunya

2. Dengue

3. Lymphatic filariasis

4. Rift Valley fever

5. Yellow Fever

6. Zika

Anopheles

1. Lymphatic filariasis

2. Malaria

Culex

1. Japanese encephalitis

2. Lymphatic filariasis

3. West Nile fever

All 3 types of mosquitoes spread the Lymphatic filariasis.

Ticks

Ticks are famous for spreading Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

1. Lyme disease

2. Rocky Mountain spotted fever

3. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever

4. Relapsing fever (borreliosis)

5. Rickettsial diseases (eg: spotted fever and Q fever)

6. Tick-borne encephalitis

7. Tularaemia

Fleas

Fleas are famous for spreading the Bubonic Plaque (Black Death) to humans in the middle ages

1. Plague (transmitted from rats to humans)

2. Tungiasis

Louse

Lice are common in unhygienic people who do not shower and wear dirty unhealthy clothing.

1. Typhus

2. Louse-borne relapsing fever

Sandfly

Sandflies tend to bite people at beaches.

1. Leishmaniasis

2. Sandfly fever (phlebotomus fever)

Triatome bugs

Chagas disease, a leading cause of cardiomyopathy in the world is spread by kissing bugs.

1. Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis)

Tsetse Fly

Tsetse fly can transmit trypanosomes to humans through its bite causing Sleeping Sickness

1. Sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis)

What are the causes of insect-borne diseases?

Causes

The diseases are produced by blood-sucking insects that infect humans when they bite the person.

The patient increases the danger of being infected by an insect when the patient is in areas where they gather.

This environment would involve tall grass, bushes, spots near still water (ponds), beaches and places around the globe with heavy outbreaks.

What are the Symptoms of insect-borne diseases?

Symptoms

Symptoms will differ depending upon the type of insect that bit the person:

1. Fever

2. Chills

3. Headache

5. Sore muscles

6. Skin rash

7. Nausea

8. Abdominal pain

More serious symptoms can be:

1. Difficulty breathing

2. The feeling that the throat is closing

3. Swelling of the lips, tongue or the face

4. Chest pain

5. A racing heartbeat that lasts more than a few minutes

6. Dizziness

7. Vomiting

How are insect-borne diseases diagnosed?

Diagnosis

The doctor can normally diagnose an insect-borne disease with a physical examination, a review of the symptoms, and the history of the recent travel.

Laboratory tests (blood and urine) can assist in diagnosing certain insect-borne diseases.

What are the treatments of Insect-borne diseases?

Treatments

As soon as the patient recognizes a bite, he or she should clean it with soap and water.

The patient should pat it dry and apply rubbing alcohol.

If the patient was bitten by a tick, he or she should remove the tick away before cleaning the area.

The patient should use tweezers to slowly pull it off the skin.

The patient should be careful not to leave any part of the tick on the skin.

The patient should dispose of the tick.

The patient should wash the hands and the bite area with soap and water and wipe with alcohol.

The patient should apply an over-the-counter antibiotic cream to the bite area.

If the patient has any of the symptoms above, he or she should see the doctor.

The doctor may give the patient a prescription for antibiotic medicine.

The patient should take the complete course of the prescription.

The over-the-counter pain medicine can alleviate sore muscles and a fever.

Death in insect-borne diseases happens in dengue fever, malaria, sleeping sickness, zika (fetus) and plague.

How are insect-borne diseases prevented?

Prevention

There are many actions the patient can take to reduce the threat of being infected by an insect.

The patient should:

1. Stay out of tall grass and bushes.

2. Wear long pants, long sleeves, and a hat if the patient must be in tall grass and bushes. Tuck the pants into long, white socks.

3. Wear light-colored clothing which makes it easier to notice any insects.

4. Wear insect-repellant clothing.

5. Use bug spray that contains the ingredient DEET.

6. Examine the skin and scalp when the patient gets back to check for bugs or bites.

7. Always shower with plenty of soap after being in the outdoors.

To discourage mosquitoes from living around the home, drain or change standing water on the property.

1. The patient should make sure the rain gutters are clear.

2. The patient should change the water in a bird bath every four or five days.

3. The patient should pay attention to outbreaks through the travel health notices posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If the patient can, the patient should avoid travel to those places during outbreaks.

Living with insect-borne diseases

The prognosis of insect-borne diseases is dependent on the type of disease.

Some insect-borne diseases cause long-term symptoms that affect the quality of life.

1. Lyme disease can leave the patient with sore muscles and fatigue.

2. Zika virus can be passed on to a baby and cause microcephaly (a disorder that causes the head to be abnormally small) and intellectual disability.

Chapter 2

Malaria

Chapter from A Family Doctor’s Tale - MALARIA PATIENT

Coming back to my first day of posting to the Medical Department of Thomson Road General Hospital, I mentioned that there was a woman who had stayed in the ward for 1 month with a diagnosis of unexplained