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Top Ten Rarest Diseases

Morgellons
Morgellons

Previous case studies and research have suggested that Morgellons may be linked to Lyme disease. Some patients with signs and symptoms of Morgellons had tested positive for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. But according to Morgellons researchers at Oklahoma State University, there is no evidence to prove this theory.

source: webmd.com
Progeria
Progeria

Progeria is a rare condition characterized by dramatic, rapid aging beginning in childhood. Affected newborns usually appear normal but within a year, their growth rate slows significantly. Affected children develop a distinctive appearance characterized by baldness, aged-looking skin, a pinched nose, and a small face and jaw relative to head size.

Water Allergy
Water Allergy

Water Allergy Treatment. Once a water allergy has been confirmed, the next logical step would be treatment. Unfortunately, there is no direct treatment for aquagenic urticaria. But, there are general allergy treatments you can use that could potentially help relieve the pain, itch, and blisters that you may be suffering from.

Foreign Accent Syndrome
Foreign Accent Syndrome

The said condition, foreign accent syndrome, is considered as rare for which it involves speech changes. The condition is indeed rare for there has been few cases reported for this condition. Accounts of foreign accent syndrome have been noted minimal and have caused great interest among medical practitioners.

source: syndrome.org
Laughing Death
Laughing Death

Laughing Death. Laughing Death, more commonly known as Kuru, was exclusive to the tribal Fore people of New Guinea. The disease, which was characterized by sudden bursts of maniacal laughter, hit the headlines in the 1950s and drew in doctors from around the world.

source: cnn.com
Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a very rare inherited connective tissue disorder characterized by the abnormal development of bone in areas of the body where bone is not normally present (heterotopic ossification), such as the ligaments, tendons, and skeletal muscles.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

The hallmark sign of Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS) is a migraine, and AIWS may in part be caused by the migraine. AIWS affects the sense of vision, sensation, touch, and hearing, as well as one's own body image.

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria
Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria

Progeria, or Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), is a rare, fatal, genetic condition of childhood with striking features resembling premature aging. Children with progeria usually have a normal appearance in early infancy.

Fields' Disease
Fields' Disease

Fields' disease is considered to be one of the rarest known diseases in the world, with only two diagnosed cases in history. The frequency of this disease is therefore 1 in approximately 3.75 billion (although since the disease manifested in identical twins, the actual frequency is 1 in approximately 7.5 billion).

Von Hippel-Lindau
Von Hippel-Lindau

The role of pregnancy on hemangioblastomas in von Hippel-Lindau disease: a retrospective French study. 9th International Symposium on VHL; October 2010. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Peyre M, David P, Van Effenterre R, et al. Natural history of supratentorial hemangioblastomas in von Hippel-Lindau disease.

Microcephaly
Microcephaly

Microcephaly is a condition where a baby’s head is much smaller than expected. During pregnancy, a baby’s head grows because the baby’s brain grows. Microcephaly can occur because a baby’s brain has not developed properly during pregnancy or has stopped growing after birth, which results in a smaller head size.

source: cdc.gov
image: drugline.org
Paraneoplastic Pemphigus
Paraneoplastic Pemphigus

However, T-cells and CD56+ Natural Killer cells have also been postulated to be associated effectors of paraneoplastic pemphigus. This case demonstrated the rare association between Natural Killer cell lymphoma and PNP, suggesting that Natural Killer cells could be involved in the pathogenesis of PNP. The article warned clinicians to be alert to the possibility that paraneoplastic pemphigus in lymphomas not of B-cell lineage.

image: henspark.com
Hepatitis-B
Hepatitis-B

In some rare strains of the virus known as Hepatitis B virus precore mutants, no HBeAg is present. The DNA polymerase is encoded by gene P. Gene S is the gene that codes for the surface antigen (HBsAg).

Malaria
Malaria

The Malaria Atlas Project aims to map global endemic levels of malaria, providing a means with which to determine the global spatial limits of the disease and to assess disease burden. This effort led to the publication of a map of P. falciparum endemicity in 2010.

Hepatitis-C
Hepatitis-C

MONDAY, Aug. 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The once tough-to-treat liver infection hepatitis C could become a rare disease in the United States in the next two decades, a new study estimates. Hepatitis C, a viral infection that harms the liver, is usually passed through infected blood.

source: webmd.com
image: natap.org
Dengue
Dengue

Dengue (pronounced DENgee) fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses. These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

source: webmd.com
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis of the Spine (Pott Disease) begins gradually and involves pain in the spinal nerve root and weight loss. More serious cases may cause paralysis. 11.

image: patch.com
Ebola
Ebola

What is Ebola Virus Disease? Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a rare and deadly disease most commonly affecting people and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).

source: cdc.gov
Marburg
Marburg

Marburg virus disease is a severe and highly fatal disease caused by a virus from the same family as the one that causes Ebola virus disease. These viruses are among the most virulent pathogens known to infect humans. Both diseases are rare, but have a capacity to cause dramatic outbreaks with high fatality.

source: who.int
image: cbsnews.com
Hantavirus
Hantavirus

Recently, a woman from New Mexico passed away after contracting hantavirus, a rare disease known to be carried by rodents. A hantavirus infection can progress to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), which can be fatal.

Lassa
Lassa

Lassa fever, also known as Lassa hemorrhagic fever (LHF), is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus. Many of those infected by the virus do not develop symptoms. When symptoms occur they typically include fever, weakness, headaches, vomiting, and muscle pains.

Rabies
Rabies

Rabies is an infectious disease that can affect all species of warmblooded animals, including man. This disorder is transmitted by the saliva of an infected animal and is caused by a virus (Neurotropic lyssavirus) that affects the salivary glands and the central nervous system.

Smallpox
Smallpox

Believe it or not, smallpox, which has killed millions of people, is a rare disease. That's because in order to catch smallpox today, you would probably have to do it in a laboratory. The last naturally occurring case of the smallpox happened in 1977. Since then, just a few laboratory accidents have caused infections.

source: sharecare.com
image: rankred.com
Influenza
Influenza

Difficult Diseases to Diagnose; More premium medical articles ... About misdiagnosis: When checking for a misdiagnosis of Type A Influenza or confirming a diagnosis of Type A Influenza, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis.

Spanish Flu
Spanish Flu

Spanish Flu with rare pictures from Otis Historical Archives "No Ordinary Flu" a comic book of the 1918 flu pandemic published by Seattle & King County Public Health "Closing in on a Killer: Scientists Unlock Clues to the Spanish Influenza Virus" An online exhibit from the National Museum of Health and Medicine.

The Black Plague
The Black Plague

The plague is rare in the United States, but the disease is still sometimes found in the rural southwest and, in particular, in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. The last epidemic of plague in the United States occurred in 1924 to 1925 in Los Angeles.

Cholera
Cholera

Cholera is an infectious disease that causes severe watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and even death if untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae.

source: webmd.com