INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Infectious Disease Services

The Best Care

Faisal Wasi, MD is our Infectious Disease Physician and has been providing care to the Oklahoma community for over 14 years. He is Board Certified Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine.

MedFusion offers patients in Broken Arrow and Tulsa area state-of-the-art-care in a relaxed and compassionate environment.

At MedFusion we treat a variety of infectious diseases including viral and bacterial infections. Our practitioners specialize in the treatment of complicated infectious diseases, travel medicine, tropical diseases, and common infections of the skin, lung kidney, and bowel.

We Specialize In

Infections of the skin, lung, kidney, bone, joints and bowel
Tropical Diseases
Chronic Hepatitis A, B & C
Tick Fever
Endocarditis
Lyme Disease
Tuberculosis
Cellulitis
Complicated UTI
Blastomycosis
Malaria, Measles, Meningitis and Mumps
Rubella
Herpes Zoster
Histoplasmosis infection
Human Papillomavirus
Lead Poisoning
Legionellosis
Leptospirosis
Listeriosis
Pediculosis
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Whooping Cough
Pustular Rash diseases
Salmonella
Rabies
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Shigellosis gastroenteritis
Staphylococcal Infection
Streptococcal Disease, Group A, B
Streptococcal Toxic-Shock Syndrome
Syphilis, primary, secondary, early latent, late latent,
Tetanus Infection (Lock Jaw)
Vaginosis
Varicella (Chickenpox)
Urticaria
IV Antibiotic Infusion

The Practitioners of MedFusion specialize in the treatment of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in addition to Hepatitis A, B & C.

What are Infectious Diseases?

Infectious diseases are disorders caused by organisms — such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. Many organisms live in and on our bodies. They're normally harmless or even helpful, but under certain conditions, some organisms may cause disease.

Signs and symptoms vary depending on the organism causing the infection, but often include fever and fatigue. Mild infections may respond to rest and home remedies, while some life-threatening infections may require hospitalization.

Many infectious diseases, such as measles and chickenpox, can be prevented by vaccines. Frequent and thorough hand-washing also helps protect you from most infectious diseases.

Symptoms

Each infectious disease has its own specific signs and symptoms. General signs and symptoms common to several infectious diseases include:

Fever
Diarrhea
Fatigue
Muscle aches

Seek medical attention if you:

Have been bitten by an animal
Are having trouble breathing
Have been coughing for more than a week
Have severe headache with fever
Experience a rash or swelling
Have unexplained or prolonged fever
Have sudden vision problems

Bacteria: These one-cell organisms are responsible for illnesses such as strep throat, urinary tract infections and tuberculosis.

Viruses: Even smaller than bacteria, viruses cause a multitude of diseases — ranging from the common cold to AIDS.

Fungi: Many skin diseases, such as ringworm and athlete's foot, are caused by fungi. Other types of fungi can infect your lungs or nervous system.

Parasites: Malaria is caused by a tiny parasite that is transmitted by a mosquito bite. Other parasites may be transmitted to humans from animal feces.

An easy way to catch most infectious diseases is by meeting a person or animal who has the infection. Three ways infectious diseases can be spread through direct contact are:

Person to person: A common way for infectious diseases to spread is through the direct transfer of bacteria, viruses or other germs from one person to another. This can occur when an individual with the bacterium or virus touches, kisses, or coughs or sneezes on someone who isn't infected.

These germs can also spread through the exchange of body fluids from sexual contact. The person who passes the germ may have no symptoms of the disease but may simply be a carrier.

Animal to person: Being bitten or scratched by an infected animal — even a pet — can make you sick and, in extreme circumstances, can be fatal. Handling animal waste can be hazardous, too. For example, you can acquire a toxoplasmosis infection by scooping your cat's litter box.

Mother to unborn child: A pregnant woman may pass germs that cause infectious diseases to her unborn baby. Some germs can pass through the placenta. Germs in the vagina can be transmitted to the baby during birth.

Disease-causing organisms also can be passed by indirect contact. Many germs can linger on an inanimate object, such as a tabletop, doorknob or faucet handle. When you touch a doorknob handled by someone ill with the flu or a cold, for example, you can pick up the germs he or she left behind. If you then touch your eyes, mouth or nose before washing your hands, you may become infected.

Insect Bites

Some germs rely on insect carriers — such as mosquitoes, fleas, lice or ticks — to move from host to host. These carriers are known as vectors. Mosquitoes can carry the malaria parasite or West Nile virus, and deer ticks may carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

Food Contamination

Another way disease-causing germ can infect you is through contaminated food and water. This mechanism of transmission allows germs to be spread to many people through a single source. E. coli, for example, is a bacterium present in or on certain foods — such as undercooked hamburger or unpasteurized fruit juice.

Risk Factors

While anyone can catch infectious diseases, you may be more likely to get sick if your immune system isn't working properly. This may occur if:

You're taking steroids or other medications that suppress your immune system, such as anti-rejection drugs for a transplanted organ
You have HIV or AIDS
You have certain types of cancer or other disorders that affect your immune system

In addition, certain other medical conditions may predispose you to infection, including implanted medical devices, malnutrition and extremes of age, among others.

Complications

Most infectious diseases have only minor complications. But some infections — such as pneumonia, AIDS and meningitis — can become life-threatening. A few types of infections have been linked to a long-term increased risk of cancer:

Human papilloma virus is linked to cervical cancer
Helicobacter pylori is linked to stomach cancer and peptic ulcers
Hepatitis B and C have been linked to liver cancer

In addition, some infectious diseases may become silent, only to appear again in the future — sometimes even decades later. For example, someone who's had a chickenpox infection may develop shingles much later in life.

Prevention

Infectious agents can enter your body through:

Skin contact or injuries
Inhalation of airborne germs
Ingestion of contaminated food or water
Tick or mosquito bites
Sexual contact

Follow these tips to decrease your risk of infecting yourself or others:

Wash your hands. This is especially important before and after preparing food, before eating, and after using the toilet. And try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands, as that's a common way germ enter the body.
Get vaccinated. Immunization can drastically reduce your chances of contracting many diseases. Make sure to keep up to date on your recommended vaccinations, as well as your children's.
Stay home when ill. Don't go to work if you are vomiting, have diarrhea or have a fever. Don't send your child to school if he or she has these signs and symptoms, either.
Prepare food safely. Keep counters and other kitchen surfaces clean when preparing meals. Cook foods to the proper temperature using a food thermometer to check for doneness. For ground meats, that means at least 160 F (71 C); for poultry, 165 F (74 C); and for most other meat, at least 145 F (63 C).

In addition, promptly refrigerate leftovers — don't let cooked foods remain at room temperature for extended periods of time.

Practice safe sex. Always use condoms if you or your partner has a history of sexually transmitted infections or high-risk behavior.
Don't share personal items. Use your own toothbrush, comb and razor. Avoid sharing drinking glasses or dining plates.

Diagnoses

Your doctor may order lab work or imaging scans to help determine what's causing your symptoms.

Laboratory tests

Many infectious diseases have similar signs and symptoms. Samples of your body fluids can sometimes reveal evidence of the particular microbe that's causing your illness. This helps your doctor tailor your treatment.

Blood tests. A technician obtains a sample of your blood by inserting a needle into a vein, usually in your arm.
Urine tests. This painless test requires you to urinate into a container. To avoid potential contamination of the sample, you may be instructed to cleanse your genital area with an antiseptic pad and to collect the urine midstream.
Throat swabs. Samples from your throat, or other moist areas of your body, may be obtained with a sterile swab.
Stool sample. You may be instructed to collect a stool sample so a lab can check the sample for parasites and other organisms.
Spinal tap (lumbar puncture). This procedure obtains a sample of your cerebrospinal fluid through a needle carefully inserted between the bones of your lower spine. You'll usually be asked to lie on your side with your knees pulled up toward your chest.

Imaging Scans

Imaging procedures — such as X-rays, computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging — can help pinpoint diagnoses and rule out other conditions that may be causing your symptoms.

Biopsies

During a biopsy, a tiny sample of tissue is taken from an internal organ for testing. For example, a biopsy of lung tissue can be checked for a variety of fungi that can cause a type of pneumonia.

Treatment

Knowing what type of germ is causing your illness makes it easier for your doctor to choose appropriate treatment.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are grouped into "families" of similar types. Bacteria also are put together in groups of similar types, such as streptococcus or E. coli. Certain types of bacteria are especially susceptible to classes of antibiotics. Treatment can be targeted more precisely if your doctor knows what type of bacteria you're fighting.

Antibiotics are usually reserved for bacterial infections, because these types of drugs have no effect on illnesses caused by viruses. But sometimes it's difficult to tell which type of germ is at work. For example, some types of pneumonia are caused by viruses while others are caused by bacteria.

The overuse of antibiotics has resulted in several types of bacteria developing resistance to one or more varieties of antibiotics. This makes these bacteria much more difficult to treat.

Antivirals

Drugs have been developed to treat some, but not all, viruses. Examples include the viruses that cause:

HIV/AIDS
Herpes
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Influenza

Antifungals

Topical antifungal medications can be used to treat skin or nail infections caused by fungi. Some fungal infections, such as those affecting the lungs or the mucous membranes, can be treated with an oral antifungal. More severe internal organ fungal infections, especially in people with weakened immune systems, may require intravenous antifungal medications.:

Anti-parasitic

Some diseases, including malaria, are caused by tiny parasites. While there are drugs to treat these diseases, some varieties of parasites have developed resistance to the drugs