bowang0911/MedQuAD huggingface dataset:
LCMV infections can occur after exposure to fresh urine, droppings, saliva, or nesting materials from infected rodents.  Transmission may also occur when these materials are directly introduced into broken skin, the nose, the eyes, or the mouth, or presumably, via the bite of an infected rodent. Person-to-person transmission has not been reported, with the exception of vertical transmission from infected mother to fetus, and rarely, through organ transplantation.
LCMV is most commonly recognized as causing neurological disease, as its name implies, though infection without symptoms or mild febrile illnesses are more common clinical manifestations. 
                
For infected persons who do become ill, onset of symptoms usually occurs 8-13 days after exposure to the virus as part of a biphasic febrile illness. This initial phase, which may last as long as a week, typically begins with any or all of the following symptoms: fever, malaise, lack of appetite, muscle aches, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Other symptoms appearing less frequently include sore throat, cough, joint pain, chest pain, testicular pain, and parotid (salivary gland) pain. 
                
Following a few days of recovery, a second phase of illness may occur. Symptoms may consist of meningitis (fever, headache, stiff neck, etc.), encephalitis (drowsiness, confusion, sensory disturbances, and/or motor abnormalities, such as paralysis), or meningoencephalitis (inflammation of both the brain and meninges). LCMV has also been known to cause acute hydrocephalus (increased fluid on the brain), which often requires surgical shunting to relieve increased intracranial pressure. In rare instances, infection results in myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord) and presents with symptoms such as muscle weakness, paralysis, or changes in body sensation. An association between LCMV infection and myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscles) has been suggested. 
                
Previous observations show that most patients who develop aseptic meningitis or encephalitis due to LCMV survive. No chronic infection has been described in humans, and after the acute phase of illness, the virus is cleared from the body. However, as in all infections of the central nervous system, particularly encephalitis, temporary or permanent neurological damage is possible. Nerve deafness and arthritis have been reported. 
                
Women who become infected with LCMV during pregnancy may pass the infection on to the fetus. Infections occurring during the first trimester may result in fetal death and pregnancy termination, while in the second and third trimesters, birth defects can develop. Infants infected In utero can have many serious and permanent birth defects, including vision problems, mental retardation, and hydrocephaly (water on the brain). Pregnant women may recall a flu-like illness during pregnancy, or may not recall any illness. 
                
LCM is usually not fatal. In general, mortality is less than 1%.
Individuals of all ages who come into contact with urine, feces, saliva, or blood of wild mice are potentially at risk for infection. Owners of pet mice or hamsters may be at risk for infection if these animals originate from colonies that were contaminated with LCMV, or if their animals are infected from other wild mice. Human fetuses are at risk of acquiring infection vertically from an infected mother. 
                
Laboratory workers who work with the virus or handle infected animals are also at risk. However, this risk can be minimized by utilizing animals from sources that regularly test for the virus, wearing proper protective laboratory gear, and following appropriate safety precautions.
During the first phase of the disease, the most common laboratory abnormalities are a low white blood cell count (leukopenia) and a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). Liver enzymes in the serum may also be mildly elevated. After the onset of neurological disease during the second phase, an increase in protein levels, an increase in the number of white blood cells or a decrease in the glucose levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is usually found. 
   
Laboratory diagnosis is usually made by detecting IgM and IgG antibodies in the CSF and serum. Virus can be detected by PCR or virus isolation in the CSF at during the acute stage of illness.
LCMV infection can be prevented by avoiding contact with wild mice and taking precautions when handling pet rodents (i.e. mice, hamsters, or guinea pigs). 
                
Rarely, pet rodents may become infected with LCMV from wild rodents. Breeders, pet stores, and pet owners should take measures to prevent infestations of wild rodents. Pet rodents should not come into contact with wild rodents. If you have a pet rodent, wash your hands with soap and water (or waterless alcohol-based hand rubs when soap is not available and hands are not visibly soiled) after handling rodents or their cages and bedding. 
                
If you have a rodent infestation in and around your home, take the following precautions to reduce the risk of LCMV infection: 
 
 - Seal up rodent entry holes or gaps with steel wool, lath metal, or caulk. 
 - Trap rats and mice by using an appropriate snap trap. 
 - Clean up rodent food sources and nesting sites and take precautions when cleaning rodent-infected areas: 
   
   - Use cross-ventilation when entering a previously unventilated enclosed room or dwelling prior to cleanup. 
   - Put on rubber, latex, vinyl or nitrile gloves. 
   - Do not stir up dust by vacuuming, sweeping, or any other means. 
   - Thoroughly wet contaminated areas with a bleach solution or household disinfectant. 
   - Hypochlorite (bleach) solution: Mix 1 and 1/2 cups of household bleach in 1 gallon of water. 
   - Once everything is wet, take up contaminated materials with damp towel and then mop or sponge the area with bleach solution or household disinfectant. 
   - Spray dead rodents with disinfectant and then double-bag along with all cleaning materials and throw bag out in an appropriate waste disposal system. 
   - Remove the gloves and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water (or waterless alcohol-based hand rubs when soap is not available and hands are not visibly soiled). 
    
 
                
The geographic distributions of the rodent hosts are widespread both domestically and abroad. However, infrequent recognition and diagnosis, and historic underreporting of LCM, have limited scientists' ability to estimate incidence rates and prevalence of disease among humans. Understanding the epidemiology of LCM and LCMV infections will help to further delineate risk factors for infection and develop effective preventive strategies. Increasing physician awareness will improve disease recognition and reporting, which may lead to better characterization of the natural history and the underlying immunopathological mechanisms of disease, and stimulate future therapeutic research and development.
Cysticercosis is an infection caused by the larvae of the tapeworm, Taenia solium. A person with an adult tapeworm, which lives in the person’s gut, sheds eggs in the stool.  The infection with the adult tapeworm is called taeniasis.  A pig then eats the eggs in the stool.  The eggs develop into larvae inside the pig and form cysts (called cysticerci) in the pig's muscles or other tissues. The infection with the cysts is called cysticercosis. Humans who eat undercooked or raw infected pork swallow the cysts in the meat. The larvae then come out of their cysts in the human gut and develop into adult tapeworms, completing the cycle.
    
People get cysticercosis when they swallow eggs that are excreted in the stool of people with the adult tapeworm. This may happen when people
    
     - Drink water or eat food contaminated with tapeworm eggs
     - Put contaminated fingers in their mouth
    
    
Cysticercosis is not spread by eating undercooked meat. However, people get infected with tapeworms (taeniasis) by eating undercooked infected pork. People who have tapeworm infections can infect themselves with the eggs and develop cysticercosis (this is called autoinfection). They can also infect other people if they have poor hygiene and contaminate food or water that other people swallow. People who live with someone who has a tapeworm infection in their intestines have a much higher risk of getting cysticercosis than other people.
    
Human cysticercosis is found worldwide, especially in areas where pig cysticercosis is common. Both taeniasis and cysticercosis are most often found in rural areas of developing countries with poor sanitation, where pigs roam freely and eat human feces. Taeniasis and cysticercosis are rare among persons who live in countries where pigs are not raised and in countries where pigs do not have contact with human feces. Although uncommon, cysticercosis can occur in people who have never traveled outside of the United States if they are exposed to tapeworm eggs.
    
More on: Taeniasis
If you think that you may have cysticercosis, please see your health care provider. Your health care provider will ask you about your symptoms, where you have travelled, and what kinds of foods you eat. The diagnosis of neurocysticercosis usually requires MRI or CT brain scans. Blood tests may be useful to help diagnose an infection, but they may not always be positive in light infections.
  
If you have been diagnosed with cysticercosis, you and your family members should be tested for intestinal tapeworm infection. See the taeniasis section for more information on intestinal tapeworm infections.  
  
More on: Taeniasis
  
More on: Resources for Health Professionals: Diagnosis
To prevent cysticercosis, the following precautions should be taken:
    
     - Wash your hands with soap and warm water after using the toilet, changing diapers, and before handling food
     - Teach children the importance of washing hands to prevent infection
     - Wash and peel all raw vegetables and fruits before eating
     - Use good food and water safety practices while traveling in developing countries such as: 
      
       - Drink only bottled or boiled (1 minute) water or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles
       - Filter unsafe water through an "absolute 1 micron or less" filter AND dissolve iodine tablets in the filtered water; "absolute 1 micron" filters can be found in camping and outdoor supply stores
      
    
    
More on: Handwashing
    
More on: Food and Water Safety
Whipworm is a soil-transmitted helminth (STH) and is the third most common roundworm of humans. Whipworm causes an infection called trichuriasis and often occurs in areas where human feces is used as fertilizer or where defecation onto soil happens. The worms are spread from person to person by fecal-oral transmission or through feces-contaminated food.
    Geographic Distribution
Worldwide, infection occurs more frequently in areas with tropical weather and poor sanitation practices, and among children. In 2002, the estimated number of persons infected with whipworm was 1 billion. Trichuriasis also occurs in the southern United States.
The best way to prevent whipworm infection is to always:
    
     - Avoid ingesting soil that may be contaminated with human feces, including where human fecal matter ("night soil") or wastewater is used to fertilize crops.
     - Wash your hands with soap and warm water before handling food.
     - Teach children the importance of washing hands to prevent infection.
     - Wash, peel, or cook all raw vegetables and fruits before eating, particularly those that have been grown in soil that has been fertilized with manure.
    
    
More on: Handwashing
    
Transmission of infection to others can be prevented by
    
     - Not defecating outdoors.
     - Effective sewage disposal systems.
Every year, approximately 30 cases of poisoning by marine toxins are reported in the United States. Because healthcare providers are not required to report these illnesses and because many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of poisonings may be much greater. Toxic seafood poisonings are more common in the summer than winter because dinoflagelates grow well in warmer seasons. It is estimated from cases with available data that one person dies every 4 years from toxic seafood poisonings.
Some health departments test shellfish harvested within their jurisdiction to monitor the level of dinoflagellate toxins and asses the risk for contamination. Based on the results of such testing, recreational and commercial seafood harvesting may be prohibited locally during periods of risk. State and federal regulatory agencies monitor reported cases of marine toxin poisoning, and health departments investigate possible outbreaks and devise control measures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides support to investigators as needed.
Schistosomiasis is an important cause of disease in many parts of the world, most commonly in places with poor sanitation. School-age children who live in these areas are often most at risk because they tend to spend time swimming or bathing in water containing infectious cercariae.
If you live in, or travel to, areas where schistosomiasis is found and are exposed to contaminated freshwater, you are at risk.
   
Areas where human schistosomiasis is found include:
   
    - Schistosoma mansoni 
     
      - distributed throughout Africa: There is risk of infection in freshwater in southern and sub-Saharan Africa–including the great lakes and rivers as well as smaller bodies of water. Transmission also occurs in the Nile River valley in Sudan and Egypt
      - South America: including Brazil, Suriname, Venezuela
      - Caribbean (risk is low): Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint Lucia.
     
    - S. haematobium 
     
      - distributed throughout Africa: There is risk of infection in freshwater in southern and sub-Saharan Africa–including the great lakes and rivers as well as smaller bodies of water. Transmission also occurs in the Nile River valley in Egypt and the Mahgreb region of North Africa.
      - found in areas of the Middle East
     
    - S. japonicum 
     
      - found in Indonesia and parts of China and Southeast Asia
     
    - S. mekongi 
     
      - found in Cambodia and Laos
     
    - S. intercalatum 
     
      - found in parts of Central and West Africa.
Prevention
    
No vaccine is available.
    
The best way to prevent schistosomiasis is to take the following steps if you are visiting or live in an area where schistosomiasis is transmitted:
    
     - Avoid swimming or wading in freshwater when you are in countries in which schistosomiasis occurs. Swimming in the ocean and in chlorinated swimming pools is safe.
     - Drink safe water. Although schistosomiasis is not transmitted by swallowing contaminated water, if your mouth or lips come in contact with water containing the parasites, you could become infected. Because water coming directly from canals, lakes, rivers, streams, or springs may be contaminated with a variety of infectious organisms, you should either bring your water to a rolling boil for 1 minute or filter water before drinking it. Bring your water to a rolling boil for at least 1 minute will kill any harmful parasites, bacteria, or viruses present. Iodine treatment alone WILL NOT GUARANTEE that water is safe and free of all parasites.
     - Water used for bathing should be brought to a rolling boil for 1 minute to kill any cercariae, and then cooled before bathing to avoid scalding. Water held in a storage tank for at least 1 - 2 days should be safe for bathing.
     - Vigorous towel drying after an accidental, very brief water exposure may help to prevent the Schistosoma parasite from penetrating the skin. However, do not rely on vigorous towel drying alone to prevent schistosomiasis.
    
    
Those who have had contact with potentially contaminated water overseas should see their health care provider after returning from travel to discuss testing.
    
More on: Schistosomiasis in Travelers
   
  
  
   Control
   
In countries where schistosomiasis causes significant disease, control efforts usually focus on:
   
    - reducing the number of infections in people and/or
    - eliminating the snails that are required to maintain the parasite’s life cycle.
   
   
For all species that cause schistosomiasis, improved sanitation could reduce or eliminate transmission of this disease. In some areas with lower transmission levels, elimination of schistosomiasis is considered a "winnable battle" by public health officials.
   
Control measures can include mass drug treatment of entire communities and targeted treatment of school-age children. Some of the problems with control of schistosomiasis include:
   
    - Chemicals used to eliminate snails in freshwater sources may harm other species of animals in the water and, if treatment is not sustained, the snails may return to those sites afterwards.
    - For certain species of the parasite, such as S. japonicum, animals such as cows or water buffalo can also be infected. Runoff from pastures (if the cows are infected) can contaminate freshwater sources.
In the United States, infestation with head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) is most common among preschool- and elementary school-age children and their household members and caretakers. Head lice are not known to transmit disease; however, secondary bacterial infection of the skin resulting from scratching can occur with any lice infestation.
    
Getting head lice is not related to cleanliness of the person or his or her environment.
    
Head lice are mainly spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. The most common way to get head lice is by head-to-head contact with a person who already has head lice. Such contact can be common among children during play at:
    
     - school,
     - home, and
     - elsewhere (e.g., sports activities, playgrounds, camp, and slumber parties).
    
    
Uncommonly, transmission may occur by:
    
     - wearing clothing, such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, or hair ribbons worn by an infested person;
     - using infested combs, brushes or towels; or
     - lying on a bed, couch, pillow, carpet, or stuffed animal that has recently been in contact with an infested person.
    
    
Reliable data on how many people get head lice each year in the United States are not available; however, an estimated 6 million to 12 million infestations occur each year in the United States among children 3 to 11 years of age. Some studies suggest that girls get head lice more often than boys, probably due to more frequent head-to-head contact.
    
In the United States, infestation with head lice is much less common among African-Americans than among persons of other races. The head louse found most frequently in the United States may have claws that are better adapted for grasping the shape and width of some types of hair but not others.
Misdiagnosis of head lice infestation is common. The diagnosis of head lice infestation is best made by finding a live nymph or adult louse on the scalp or hair of a person.
    
Because adult and nymph lice are very small, move quickly, and avoid light, they may be difficult to find. Use of a fine-toothed louse comb may facilitate identification of live lice.
    
If crawling lice are not seen, finding nits attached firmly within ¼ inch of the base of hair shafts suggests, but does not confirm, the person is infested. Nits frequently are seen on hair behind the ears and near the back of the neck. Nits that are attached more than ¼ inch from the base of the hair shaft are almost always non-viable (hatched or dead). Head lice and nits can be visible with the naked eye, although use of a magnifying lens may be necessary to find crawling lice or to identify a developing nymph inside a viable nit. Nits are often confused with other particles found in hair such as dandruff, hair spray droplets, and dirt particles.
    
If no nymphs or adults are seen, and the only nits found are more than ¼ inch from the scalp, then the infestation is probably old and no longer active — and does not need to be treated.
Head lice are spread most commonly by direct head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact. However, much less frequently they are spread by sharing clothing or belongings onto which lice have crawled or nits attached to shed hairs may have fallen. The risk of getting infested by a louse that has fallen onto a carpet or furniture is very small. Head lice survive less than 1–2 days if they fall off a person and cannot feed; nits cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they are not kept at the same temperature as that found close to the scalp.
    
The following are steps that can be taken to help prevent and control the spread of head lice:
    
     - Avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp).
     - Do not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, or barrettes.
     - Do not share combs, brushes, or towels. Disinfest combs and brushes used by an infested person by soaking them in hot water (at least 130°F) for 5–10 minutes.
     - Do not lie on beds, couches, pillows, carpets, or stuffed animals that have recently been in contact with an infested person.
     - Machine wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and other items that an infested person wore or used during the 2 days before treatment using the hot water (130°F) laundry cycle and the high heat drying cycle. Clothing and items that are not washable can be dry-cleaned OR sealed in a plastic bag and stored for 2 weeks.
     - Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay. However, spending much time and money on housecleaning activities is not necessary to avoid reinfestation by lice or nits that may have fallen off the head or crawled onto furniture or clothing.
     - Do not use fumigant sprays or fogs; they are not necessary to control head lice and can be toxic if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
    
    
To help control a head lice outbreak in a community, school, or camp, children can be taught to avoid activities that may spread head lice.
Body lice are parasitic insects that live on clothing and bedding used by infested persons. Body lice frequently lay their eggs on or near the seams of clothing. Body lice must feed on blood and usually only move to the skin to feed. Body lice exist worldwide and infest people of all races. Body lice infestations can spread rapidly under crowded living conditions where hygiene is poor (the homeless, refugees, victims of war or natural disasters). In the United States, body lice infestations are found only in homeless transient populations who do not have access to bathing and regular changes of clean clothes. Infestation is unlikely to persist on anyone who bathes regularly and who has at least weekly access to freshly laundered clothing and bedding.
Body lice infestation is found worldwide but generally is limited to persons who live under conditions of crowding and poor hygiene who do not have access to regular bathing and changes of clean clothes, such as:
    
     - the homeless,
     - refugees,
     - survivors of war or natural disasters.
    
    
Infestations can spread rapidly under such conditions. Body lice infestation can occur in people of all races.
    
Body lice are spread through direct contact with a person who has body lice or through contact with articles such as clothing, beds, bed linens, or towels that have been in contact with an infested person. However, in the United States, actual infestation with body lice tends to be occur only in homeless, transient persons who do not have access to regular bathing and changes of clean clothes.
    
Body lice can transmit disease. Epidemics of typhus and louse-borne relapsing fever have been caused by body lice (typically in areas where climate, poverty, and social customs or war and social upheaval prevent regular changes and laundering of clothing).