WiRED Launches Dysentery Module
BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN
W
iRED International announces the release of a Dysentery Module as part of its Community Preparedness for Infectious Disease Outbreaks project. The Dysentery Module joins more than 400 interactive training modules in WiRED’s Health Learning Center.
Dysentery is defined as diarrhea that contains blood, pus and mucous, usually accompanied by abdominal pain. The disease is associated with intestinal damage and nutrient losses in an infected individual.
Dysentery is most often caused by a bacterium, Shigella, or a parasitic ameba, E. histolytica. Both of these conditions are transmitted from the stool of one person to the mouth of another via contaminated food or water.
WiRED’s Dysentery Module describes the disease and its risk factors, diagnosis, symptoms, complications and treatment, while continually emphasizing prevention. The best ways to prevent the spread of dysentery are washing hands with soap after going to the toilet and washing hands with soap before preparing food.
Read More
Diarrhea, often brought on by dysentery, kills 2,195 children every day — more than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined. Poor sanitation and lack of good hygiene are two of the most significant causes behind the spread of dysentery, which mainly results from consuming contaminated food and water. WiRED’s Infectious Disease project will educate underserved communities to prevent and manage dysentery and 41 other diseases as well.
Dysentery is generally treated with antibiotics and oral rehydration therapy (ORT). WiRED’s module offers an easy homemade formula for ORT and describes how it can be administered to people to reduce dehydration and prevent dehydration-related deaths.
Dysentery is most likely to be severe,
and the risk of death the greatest among:
- Infants and adults older than 50 years
- Children who are not breastfed
- Children recovering from measles
- Malnourished children and adults
- Any patient who develops dehydration, unconsciousness or hypo- or hyperthermia, or has a history of convulsions when first seen
Questions from WiRED’s Dysentery Module Quiz
^ Back to the Top
|
.jpg){kind=logo}
