Two significant tropical diseases could find relief with some plants native to the Mojave Desert region. Ohio State University has been working on possible treatments for killing the parasites that cause African sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis. These two diseases are rarely found in the United States and Canada but they are a growing problem in certain areas of the world like Africa.

Water is one of the most common incubators when it comes to little beasties that cause tropical diseases. Onchoceriasis, also known as river blindness, is one of those diseases which originate from the water. It is a parasitic disease caused by a worm which lives in the water and is the one of the top causes of blindness from infection.

The worm which causes river blindness is the Onchocerca volvulus and is quite thin and cannot really be seen by the naked eye. The disease is transmitted from person to person from the bite of a blackfly. The larvae passed onto an unsuspecting victim turns into adult worms which can live for up to 15 years in the body!

Traveling to foreign countries can be quite exciting and adventurous. Of course, with traveling comes a certain amount of responsibility in terms of not only travel logistics but also your health as well. Certain areas of the world, particularly the tropic and sub-tropic areas, are ripe with diseases that you can catch during your travels. Unless you are properly prepared health-wise, you could end up being sick and bring home one souvenir you wish you hadn't – disease.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a condition with quite a stigma attached. In history, there have been reports of leper colonies established, many times in isolated areas and on islands away from the rest of the world. These lepers became society's forgotten people. The fact of the matter is that while leprosy can be quite disfiguring, it is not a disease that can be easily caught, especially if your immune system is strong.

About the Disease

Diseases are not a one size fits all kind of deal nor are they discriminate. They strike the vulnerable and weak, whether they are man, woman or child. However, in developing countries, the death rates are much higher than those found in more industrialized nations and the odds are quite often stacked against the people in these countries. For instance, babies and children in industrialized nations like the United States are up to 40 times less likely do die from disease than their counterparts in third world, developing countries.

During your travels to foreign countries, particularly in areas endemic of tropical diseases, you are likely to become exposed to some of these diseases. Not everyone gets sick after exposure to some of the parasites, viruses and bacteria that cause disease, but there is always the chance that it could occur.

Some diseases present symptoms fairly quickly, just a day or two, after exposure. This means you may become ill during the trip itself, requiring medical attention immediately. However, some diseases have a longer incubation time which means that you unknowingly bring home a potentially infectious souvenir.

A Traveler's Risks

Malaria is perhaps the most widely known tropical disease around the world and indeed, it is the one that many Americans are concerned with when they travel. It can be found in many of the countries that are desirable for travel like Mexico, Central and South America, Africa and even parts of Asia and Australia.

Dracunculiasis is a tropical disease caused by disgusting parasitic worm called Dracunculus medinensis aka guinea worm. This nickname precipitates the common name for this disease – Guinea worm disease. Of all the known possible parasitic worms, this particular one is the largest. Measuring 2 to 2.5 feet in length, the female adult guinea worm is almost 1/10 of an inch in diameter and can carry several million worm embryos.

What Happens to Infected People

If you plan to travel to Mexico, Central America or South America, you will want to take precautions against contracting Chagas disease. It's an inflammatory disease caused by a parasite and is spread through the excrement of the reduvid bug that has been infected with it. Also called the American form of Trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease develops in two phases – the acute phase in which the disease causes mild symptoms and the chronic phase which can cause serious health repercussions to the heart and other body functions.

Cause of Chagas Disease

If it is not mosquitoes then it is animals that are the culprit in many diseases that infect humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) labels fascioliasis as one of these diseases that you can get from animals. The disease is caused by a trematode organism usually called a fluke. Once considered a neglected disease by the WHO, fascioliasis is become more common in areas with unsanitary conditions around livestock like parts of Europe, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Oceania and more.

You may never look at a pig in the same way again if you develop cysticercosis after dining on pork in a foreign country. The pork tapeworm called Taenia solium is the source of the Cysticercosis infection. Your body becomes infected when you ingest the larvae from the pork tapeworm and these worms form cysts. If any cysts form in the brain, then the disease is called neurocysticercosis.

People rarely get this infection from the pork tapeworm in the United States and Muslim countries don't normally have occurrences as they do not eat pork. However, developing countries with little in the way of sanitation and waste management practices and have roaming pigs that could potentially eat the excrement from humans are likely to have occurrences of cysticercosis with some frequency.

About a billion people in over 75 countries are at risk for Elephantiasis, a serious disease which has the capacity to permanent disfigure and debilitate. Also known by the name lymphatic filariasis, Elephantiasis shows up primarily in rural or poverty stricken areas in India, Africa, Southeast Asia, islands in the Pacific and even Central and South America. This disease thrives in sub-tropical and tropical areas where mosquitoes thrive.

Taking a cue from one of the largest animals on the planet, Elephantiasis causes serious swelling issues in the breasts, genitals, arms and legs primarily. There is also damage to the lymphatic system as well as the kidneys.

While tuberculosis is not classified as a typical tropical disease, it is just as serious as one. Tuberculosis aka TB affects the lungs and can be life-threatening, killing several million people around the world each year. It is estimate that a whopping 33% of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis, although many of them may have a form that is not active or contagious.

Some of the scariest diseases known to man are those that trace back to tropical and sub-tropical climates. The viral hemorrhagic fevers in particular are the deadliest. These fevers belong to a few particular virus families and typically affect multiple organs in the body along with excessive bleeding (hemorrhaging). They also cause fatigue, muscle aches, loss of strength and exhaustion.

In viral hemorrhagic fevers, the vascular system in particular is harmed which hinders the remarkable healing powers of the body. The bleeding itself is not always the life-threatening part of one of these fevers, but rather the damage done to the internal organs which affect the biological operation of the body itself.

Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and more have high concentrations of this disease as do countries in the South Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The disease Melioidosis aka Whitmore's disease is a bacterial illness caused by the bacteria burkholderia pseudomallei. It is endemic in these areas and the bacteria that cause Melioidosis are found in both soil and water, two things that people are easily exposed to every day there.

Leptospirosis is a disease caused by bacteria in the leptospira group. While this bacterial disease can be found all over the world, including the United States, it is more often than not prevalent in tropical and temperate climates in areas of the world that are rural and stricken with poverty. Access to proper hygiene and protective measures are the reasons why it is not a commonly occurring disease in this country.

For many people, an African Safari to Kenya sounds like a dream come true. Some people bring home more than just souvenirs. They bring home illnesses like malaria, typhoid fever or yellow fever. The good news is that there are steps you can take to ensure that the only thing you bring home are safari souvenirs like plenty of rolls of film to be developed.

Safari Health Pre-Planning

The most important thing you can do in all of your safari pre-planning is visit your doctor about two months before you leave. Your primary care doctor will help you determine what health steps must be taken so that you will be protected as much as possible from tropical diseases and other foreign maladies.

Labeled as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization (WHO), Yaws is a disease that affects the cartilage, skin and bones of the body. The tropical humid areas of Central and South America, Asia and Africa all have incidences of this disease, mainly concentrated in poverty-stricken rural communities and villages.

The bacteria that causes Yaws is called treponema pertenue which is related to treponema palllidum which is the bacteria that causes the veneral form syphilis. Up to 80% of the people afflicted with Yaws are children 15 years of age and younger and it occurs equally between females and males without ethnic distinction.

Planning an ecological vacation to the Amazon rainforest sounds like a dream come true doesn't it? A trip like this can be quite an undertaking with many details like passports and travel plans to work out. During your planning, do not neglect your health! In tropical areas such as the Amazon, there are a number of tropical diseases you could potentially contract so you have to plan ahead to protect yourself!

There are two types of Trypanosomiasis – the West African version and the Gambian version. Both are caused by a type of tsetse fly indigenous to that particular region they are named for. Either Trypanosomiasis type, they are both called the sleeping sickness. It is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that as many as 100,000 cases combined occur each year. The primary cause is due to the bite of the tsetse fly infected by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.

Transmission and Symptoms of the Sleeping Sickness