Poliovirus is highly contagious and infected individuals shed virus in the faeces and from oral secretions, thus the mode of transmission is person-to-person, both via the faecal-oral and the oral-oral routes.
Marburg virus disease (MVD), formerly known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever, is a severe disease in humans caused by Marburg marburgvirus (MARV). Although MVD is uncommon, MARV has the potential to cause epidemics with significant case fatality rates.
Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes to humans. The word ‘chikungunya’ means 'that which bends up', an allusion to the posture of the suffering patients. The most common symptom is joint pain.
The transmission of Clostridioides difficile can be patient-to-patient, via contaminated hands of healthcare workers or by environmental contamination.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholera of serogroups O1 or O139. Humans are the only relevant reservoir, even though Vibrios can survive for a long time in coastal waters contaminated by human excreta.
Botulism is a serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The disease may occur after eating foods containing the toxin or due to development of the spores within the intestine of young children or within wounds.
Poliomyelitis, also known as polio or infantile paralysis, is a vaccine-preventable systemic viral infection affecting the motor neurons of the central nervous system (CNS). Historically, it has been a major cause of mortality, acute paralysis and lifelong disabilities but large scale immunisation programmes have eliminated polio from most areas of the world.