Natural Health Care with Results
Lab Tests by Type of Disease Process or Vector
This section of lab tests identifies conditions based on the vector or the disease process that affects a patient.
A vector is defined as an organism, typically a biting insect or tick, that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another.
There are other means by which you can develop a disease process. This includes metabolic dysfunction, fungi, yeast, viruses, and bacteria that result in sexually transmitted diseases.
Bacteriology is a branch of microbiology that is concerned with the study of bacteria and related aspects. It's a field in which bacteriologists study and learn more about the various characteristics (structure, genetics, biochemistry and ecology etc) of bacteria as well as the mechanism through which they cause diseases in humans and animals.
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Please refer to the Infectious / Bacterial / Viral / Parasitic Conditions section in the Health Conditions Center for an in-depth discussion about bacterial infections.
Bloodborne pathogens by definition are any disease-causing organisms that pass from one entity to another through blood or other potentially infectious materials. These include: amniotic fluid, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, pleural, peritoneal, and other joint capsule or organ fluids, semen, and vaginal secretions.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is described as a severe, debilitating fatigue, lasting at least six months (of new and definite onset), associated with at least 4 of the following symptoms: impaired memory or concentration, sore throat, lymphadenopathy, muscle pains, joint pains, new headaches, unrefreshing sleep, and malaise after exertion. Other medical and psychiatric conditions that can produce fatigue should be ruled out, including Lyme disease. After demanding physical exercise, CFS patients show impaired cognitive processing.
Please refer to the Metabolic Disorders section in the Health Conditions Center for an in-depth discussion about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Gynecological tests may include screening tests which are tests that are done to look for disorders in people who have no symptoms. If women have symptoms related to the reproductive system (gynecologic symptoms), tests to identify the disorder causing them may need to be done.
Women at risk of sexually transmitted infections (such as chlamydial infections or gonorrhea) should be screened for these infections. Other screening tests are done as part of care during pregnancy.
See the Women’s Health Conditions section for more information on the lab tests utilized for gynecological testing.
Mycology is the science or study of fungi. Medical mycology is limited to the study of fungi that infect or affect humans and to those from which useful drugs can be derived.
Fungal diseases kill more than 1.5 million and affect over a billion people. However, they are still a neglected topic by public health authorities even though most deaths from fungal diseases are avoidable. Serious fungal infections occur as a consequence of other health problems including asthma, AIDS, cancer, organ transplantation and corticosteroid therapies.
Fungi can invade many parts of the body. Please refer to the Infectious / Bacterial / Viral / Parasitic Conditions section in the Health Conditions Center for an in-depth discussion about fungal infections.
Parasites are organisms that live off other organisms, or hosts, to survive. Some parasites don’t noticeably affect their hosts. Others grow, reproduce, or invade organ systems that make their hosts sick, resulting in a parasitic infection.
Parasites can invade many parts of the body. Please refer to the Infectious / Bacterial / Viral / Parasitic Conditions section in the Health Conditions Center for an in-depth discussion about parasitic infections.
Pulmonary diseases can affect not only the lungs but other body systems as well. Pulmonary disease tests are used to determine the efficiency and condition of your lungs and to evaluate your overall health.
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Please refer to the Respiratory Conditions section in the Health Conditions Center for an in-depth discussion about respiratory conditions.
Often confused, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) aren’t actually the same thing.
An infection — which is when bacteria, viruses, or parasites attack the body — comes before a disease. And while an infection may result in zero symptoms, a disease usually always comes with clear signs.
Think of it this way: An STD will always start out as an STI. But not all STIs turn into STDs.
Now you know the difference between the two, here’s the lowdown on the types of STDs that currently exist, how to treat them, and, most importantly, how to prevent them.
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Please refer to the Infectious / Bacterial / Viral / Parasitic Conditions section in the Health Conditions Center for an in-depth discussion about sexually transmitted diseases.
Vector-borne diseases account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases, causing more than 700,000 deaths annually. They can be caused by either parasites, bacteria or viruses.
Vectors are living organisms that can transmit infectious pathogens between humans, or from animals to humans. Many of these vectors are bloodsucking insects, which ingest disease-producing microorganisms during a blood meal from an infected host (human or animal) and later transmit it into a new host, after the pathogen has replicated. Often, once a vector becomes infectious, they are capable of transmitting the pathogen for the rest of their life during each subsequent bite/blood meal.
Malaria is a parasitic infection transmitted by Anopheline mosquitoes. It causes an estimated 219 million cases globally, and results in more than 400,000 deaths every year. Most of the deaths occur in children under the age of 5 years.
Dengue is the most prevalent viral infection transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. More than 3.9 billion people in over 129 countries are at risk of contracting dengue, with an estimated 96 million symptomatic cases and an estimated 40,000 deaths every year.
Other viral diseases transmitted by vectors include chikungunya fever, Zika virus fever, yellow fever, West Nile fever, Japanese encephalitis (all transmitted by mosquitoes), tick-borne encephalitis (transmitted by ticks).
Many of vector-borne diseases are preventable, through protective measures, and community mobilization.
Viral infections are among the most common afflictions of man. It has been estimated that children experience two to seven respiratory infections each year; adults are afflicted with one to three such episodes.
Viruses cause familiar infectious diseases such as the common cold, flu and warts. They also cause severe illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, influenza and COVID-19.
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Please refer to the Infectious / Bacterial / Viral / Parasitic Conditions section in the Health Conditions Center for an in-depth discussion about viral conditions.