Diseases of the Skin and Eyes and of the Nervous System

Acne vulgaris

Causative Agent: Cutibacterium acnes

Symptoms/Signs: Inflamed, swollen spots on the face, chest, or back.

Staphylococcal Skin Infection

Causative Agent: Staphylococcus aureus

Symptoms/Signs: Raised, red, tender, localized lesions or boils; exuding pus; hot to the touch; possible fever.

Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome

Causative Agent: Staphylococcus aureus possessing exfoliative toxin A and B gene
Symptoms/Signs: Fever, Blisters, Large areas of skin peeling, painful skin, redness

Impetigo

Causative Agent: Staphylococcus aureus possessing exfoliative toxin A and B gene
Symptoms/Signs: Lesions around the mouth, face, and extremities; peeling skin, crusty and flaky scabs, or honey-colored crusts.

Cellulitis

Causative Agent: Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes

Symptoms/Signs: Fever, lymph node swelling, red lines leading away from the site of infection

Measles

Causative Agent: Morbillivirus virus
Symptoms/Signs: Sore throat, Dry cough, Headache, Koplik’s spots, Conjunctivitis, Lymphadenitis, Fever, Widespread rash spreading from the head to the trunk and extremities.

Rubella (German Measles)

Causative Agent: Rubivirus
Symptoms/Signs: Widespread rash on the trunk and extremities resolving within 3 days; causes extreme harm to fetus in utero

Fifth Disease

Causative Agent: Parvovirus B19
Symptoms/Signs: “Slapped Face” rash which spreads to the body but remains most prominent on the extremities and trunk.

Roseola infantum (Sixth Disease)

Causative Agent: Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and sometimes HHV-7
Symptoms/Signs: Rash on chest and trunk, High fever for up to 3 days, Seizures, Becomes latent

Chicken Pox

Causative Agent: Human Herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3) (Varicella-zoster virus); Highly contagious

Symptoms/Signs: 10-20 Day incubation; Fever, Abundant rash on scalp, face, trunk, and extremities; Skin lesions progress to papules containing clear fluid which encrust and fall off.

Shingles

Causative Agent: Varicella-zoster virus
Symptoms/Signs: Asymmetrical distribution of rush on skin of trunk or head, painful nerve inflammation, Eye inflammation, ocular and facial paralysis, fluid-filled blisters.

Smallpox

Causative Agent: Variola major
Symptoms/Signs: Rash emerges in the mouth, Severe abdominal and back pain, Rash spreads throughout body within 24 hours creating pustules which eventually crust over and fall off leaving scar tissue.

Human Papillomavirus Virus

Warts; spreading through direct contact to fomites

Cold Sores and Genital Herpes

Causative Agent: Herpes Simplex Viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1&2)
Symptoms/Signs: Sores on the skin of the lips; can infect the CNS

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

Causative Agent: Enterovirus of the Picornaviridae family, Majority from Coxsackievirus A16 and Enterovirus 71
Symptoms/Signs: Usually affects children; Fever, Painful rush originating in the back of the mouth, palms of hands, and soles of feet.

Cutaneous Anthrax

Causative Agent: Bacillus anthracis (Endospores entering openings in the skin)
Symptoms/Signs: 20% cases are fatal; Necrotic sores

Leprosy

Causative Agent: Mycobacterium leprae (Rod-shaped acid-fast bacterium)
Symptoms/Signs: Skin lesions, ulcers, pain, muscle weakness, blindness.

Cutaneous Fungal Infections

Causative Agent: Dermatophytic Molds, Yeasts, etc.

Ocular Herpes

Causative Agent: Human Herpesvirus, directly transmitted via touching the eye after contact with cold sores or fomites.
Symptoms/Signs: Ocular lesions, which may worsen with reactivation to produce corneal scarring or blindness.

Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO)

Causative Agent: Activation of shingles along the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve
Symptoms/Signs: Vesicular lesions on the forehead, eyelids, nose, and possibly even the eye itself; corneal inflammation, eye pain, and sensitivity.

Inclusion Conjunctivitis and Trachoma

Causative Agent: Chlamydia trachomatis fluid transmission to eyes.

Fungal Keratitis

Causative Agent: Species Fusarium, Aspergillus, and Candida
Symptoms/Signs: Superficial lesions

Parasitic Keratitis

Causative Agent: Acanthamoeba Species
Symptoms/Signs: Eyes red, painful, and teary; Patient will avoid light and suffer vision loss; Effects become permanent if untreated

Burn-Wound Infections

Causative Agent: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other staphylococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and sometimes Aspergillus and Candida fungi

Gas Gangrene

Causative Agent: Clostridium perfringens
Symptoms/Signs: Highly fermentative; produces foul-smelling gasses; extremely serious and life threatening.

Neisseria meningitidis

Causative Agent: Gram-negative diplococci (meningococcus), most commonly strains A, B, C, and Y
Symptoms/Signs: Acquired through droplets or secretions; Sudden onset of High fever, sore throat, widespread bleeding under the skin, shock, coma, generalized intravascular clotting, cardiac failure, adrenal gland damage, and death within a few hours.

Poliomyelitis

Causative Agent: Polio virus (enterovirus)
Symptoms/Signs: Initially mild fever, headache, nausea, sore throat, and myalgia; if it progresses it can either cause muscle pain and spasm, meningitis, and hypersensitivity, or causes flaccid paralysis.

Toxoplasma gondii

Symptoms/Signs: Asymptomatic or low grade fever, sore throat, and lymph node inflammation; immunocompromised individuals receive brain lesions and fatal cardiopulmonary disruptions; 33% chance of vertical transmission, resulting in stillbirth or multiorgan failure.

Rabies

Causative Agent: Rabies Virus
Symptoms/Signs: Excessive confusion and aggression; Virus multiplies in skeletal muscle, enters the peripheral nervous system and migrates to the brain, causing encephalitis and eventually multiorgan failure in its final stages.

Zika Virus

Symptoms/Signs: Vertical transmission can result in microcephaly in infants; in adults usually mild symptoms.

Tetanus

Causative Agent: Clostridium tetani
Symptoms/Signs: Uncontrollable clenching of the jaw, arching of the back, flexion of the arms, and extension of the legs.

Botulism

Causative Agent: Botulinum
Symptoms/Signs: Double vision, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, descending muscular paralysis, respiratory failure.

Prions

Causative Agent: abnormally folded proteins
Symptoms/Signs: Causes spongiform degeneration in the brain; chronic and fatal.