10 most debilitating illnesses. The most terrible diseases that exist on earth
Over the years, human health has been threatened by many diseases.
A disease that turns a person's muscles into hard bones, a bacterium that causes severe cramps and diarrhea, and a fungus that leads to the appearance of purulent growths on the legs - these are some of the most terrible diseases that can disfigure people.
Warning: the photographs in the article are difficult to perceive and may shock.
1. Noma (water cancer)
Mouth ulcers that gradually eat away at the flesh until the teeth and lower jaw are exposed - this is not a scene from a horror movie, but a disease called noma.
The disease is common in Asia and Africa and is caused by bacteria that enters the body due to poor hygiene or contaminated water, causing gangrene to develop on the face. Also known as water cancer, it can also affect the genitals.
The disease used to be more common, even in developed European countries, especially during World War II in prisoners and concentration camps.
Noma occurs when bacteria enters the body, most often due to poor hygiene, contaminated water and lack of nutrition or illness, which weakens the immune system.
Although the disease has virtually disappeared in developed countries, without proper treatment it kills 90 percent of children.
2. Mycetoma (Madura foot)
Mycetoma is a fungal infection that is most often found in Africa, India, and Central and South America. Symptoms include swelling of the feet and legs, although the disease can spread throughout the body.
Later, pus may begin to come out of the swollen parts of the body. Usually, the condition is not painful, so patients often do not immediately seek medical help.
There is currently no cure for this disease, and in severe cases it can lead to limb loss. However, the disease can be avoided if you keep your hands and feet clean, especially when in the field or outdoors.
3. Sudeck syndrome
In most cases, Sudeck syndrome results injury or accident. It causes severe pain even when the skin is touched slightly.
Sudeck syndrome may be limited to only one limb, although pain can affect other organs.
People suffering from this syndrome feel burning sharp pain, or painful, throbbing sensations. Patients may experience exacerbations due to changes in temperature, or when struck, the affected area swells, becomes painful and stiff, and may even change color.
Although the disease can be treated, the road to recovery is usually long and complex, involving physical therapy and sometimes surgery.
4. Leprosy (leprosy)
Leprosy is a contagious infection that causes inflammation of the skin, eyes, nerves and respiratory system. Plaques and spots may appear on the skin, and in severe cases, leprosy causes deformation and disfigurement of the body. The causative agent of the disease is a type of bacteria known as mycobacteria.
Symptoms may go undetected for years and lead to blurred vision and loss of sensation in the limbs and affected area. As sensation is lost, wounds and infections occur, which can ultimately lead to organ loss.
Leprosy has been around since ancient times, and in the past, anyone with leprosy was isolated in a leper colony to prevent the spread of the disease. However, modern science has proven that the disease is not so contagious, so such extreme measures had little effect on its spread.
Today there is an antimicrobial treatment that eliminates this disease.
5. Filariasis
6. Vibrio vulnificus
Vibrio vulnificus is a highly contagious bacterium that causes a severe infection that can be contracted by eating raw seafood, swimming with an open wound, or being stung by stingrays.
The disease is accompanied by many symptoms, including vomiting, severe diarrhea, blisters and severe abdominal pain.
Vibrio vulnificus weakens the immune system, affecting the liver and blood system and can ultimately kill those who are not treated.
The disease was first documented in 1979. Scientists believe that rising temperatures overall and decreasing salt levels along the coast are leading to the spread of pathogens. The bacterium lives in warm seawater, and most often infection occurs after consuming raw seafood.
7. Pica
Pica is a disorder that causes inexplicable appetite for inedible things, ranging from things like paper and wood to excrement and urine. This does not include people with mental disorders or those who eat non-food items for cultural or religious reasons, which makes diagnosis difficult.
Pica can cause health problems, especially when consuming excrement or dirt, or toxic substances such as paint or lead, leading to lead poisoning.
Thus, a case was documented when 1,400 objects were found in a man’s stomach.
8. Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive
Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is a very rare, practically incurable disease that occurs in approximately 800 people worldwide.
It causes disruption of the tissue repair system and turns affected muscles, ligaments and tissues into bones.
New bones do not have flexible joints and when they begin to grow throughout the body, the person practically stops moving.
Removing newly formed bones only makes the problem worse and causes uncontrolled bone growth.
In severe cases the person becomes completely immobilized.
9. Clarkson's disease (capillary leaky syndrome)
Clarkson's disease is a disorder that causes leakage of plasma from blood vessels. Plasma is absorbed by the skin, which leads to swelling and increase in volume.
The only treatment for Clarkson's disease is fluid injections into the body. This is problematic because it takes three days for the bloating to go away, during which time damage to important organs and tissues can occur, which can be fatal.
The disease was named after Dr. Bayard Clarkson, who diagnosed the disease in 1960 in a patient who was experiencing spontaneous bloating. Since then, 150 people have been diagnosed with the disease. The cause of the disease is still unknown.
10. Elephant Man Syndrome
Joseph Merrick was born in Leicester, England in 1862. He was a healthy child, but as he grew older, growths began to appear on his skin, like an elephant's. Since then he has been nicknamed “the elephant man.”
His right arm grew disproportionately to his left, both of his legs grew to enormous sizes, and the skin on his face was covered in growths.
Doctors still cannot say for sure what caused Merrick's illness.
Merrick himself believed that the cause of his deformity was the emotional trauma his mother experienced during her pregnancy, when she was frightened by an elephant.
Others believe that the reason was combination of many diseases, including Proteus syndrome(unusual growth of tumors throughout the body), microcephaly(reduction in head size), hyperostosis(excessive bone growth) and neurofibromatosis(excessive growth of benign formations). Despite all the theories, the exact cause of the deformations remains a mystery.
AIDS
AIDS is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a deadly disease caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). At the moment, humanity does not have a medicine that can defeat this disease. That is why prevention is considered the basis of the fight against AIDS.
Scientists first started talking about AIDS in the 1980s. But in fact, HIV began affecting people from West Africa back in the thirties. Now this disease has become a modern “plague”, as more and more people become infected with it. The consequences of AIDS are often disastrous (death).
Then doctors did not pay much attention to these cases, considering them to be rare forms of pneumonia. The next time AIDS patients were found was in 1978 among homosexuals in Sweden and the United States, as well as heterosexual men in Haiti and Tanzania.
It is worth noting that AIDS and HIV are not synonymous. AIDS is a much broader concept, meaning a deficiency of immunity; it can occur against the background of chronic debilitating diseases, when exposed to radiation energy, due to the use of certain hormonal and medicinal drugs. Now the name AIDS is used to refer only to the manifest or final stage of HIV infection.
Black pox
Smallpox (or smallpox as it was once called) is a highly contagious viral infection that affects only humans. Smallpox, the symptoms of which manifest themselves in the form of general intoxication in combination with characteristic rashes covering the skin and mucous membranes, ends for patients who have suffered it with partial or complete loss of vision and, in almost all cases, scars remaining after ulcers.
Bubonic plague
This infection at one time “decimated” half of medieval Europe. According to various sources, the reapers of death visited 20-60 million people in order to take souls from cooling bodies. The mortality rate from the plague was previously up to 99%! No one can name the exact number of people who died from this infection, since no calculations were made at that time, due to the fact that people were busy surviving.
Bubonic plague is a dangerous infectious disease that develops due to infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The disease gets its name from the lumps that form on the body, similar to buboes. Nowadays, cases of plague are recorded in Africa and the southwest of America.
Spanish Flu or Spanish Flu
The Spanish flu, or “Spanish flu,” is, not without reason, considered the most terrifying influenza epidemic in human history. In 1918-1919, the Spanish flu literally erased about 100 million people from life, which at that time amounted to about 4% of the total population of the Earth. In 2009, the Spanish flu made itself known again, only by changing its name.
Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome or progeria
The rare disease of premature aging, which has affected no more than 80 people worldwide, is one of the most terrible diseases in the world. Patients with progeria are doomed to a short and painful life. A remarkable fact is that this syndrome was found in only one black person. One of the most famous people susceptible to this disease is the South African guy Leon Botha, who was able to live for 26 years. He was a video blogger and DJ. A child with progeria disease may look 90 at age 12.
Necrotizing fasciitis
Necrotizing fasciitis is a terrible disease that is extremely rare. In general, everything that begins with the prefix necro is terrible, but according to various sources, from 30% to 75% of those infected die from this disease. In this case, treatment will be limited to timely amputation of the affected limb. Diagnosis of the disease is extremely difficult. After all, at the first stage, an infected person can only have a fever. Despite the fact that it is extremely difficult to contract this disease, unless, of course, there is contact with a carrier of the disease, necrotizing fasciitis is one of the most terrible diseases of humanity.
Lymphedema or Elephantiasis
Tuberculosis (formerly called Consumption)
Tuberculosis is an extremely dangerous infectious disease that in the past was considered incurable and claimed the lives of a large number of people. It is believed that this disease is socially dependent, i.e. people with low social status are always at risk. Most often, the disease affects the lungs of a person. Today, tuberculosis can be treated well in hospitals. Unfortunately, the course of treatment takes a significant period of time - from several months to several years. An advanced disease can lead to complete disability and death, which makes tuberculosis one of the most terrible diseases of mankind
Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus is caused by an imbalance in the amount or activity of insulin, the hormone that transports glucose from the blood to the body's cells. There are two types - insulin-dependent (type 1) and non-insulin-dependent (type 2). Diabetes is the cause of myocardial infarction, stroke (cerebral vessels), diabetic retinopathy (fundus vessels), diabetic nephropathy (kidney vessels), diabetic ischemic and neuropathic foot (vessels and nerves of the lower extremities).
Cancer (oncology)
Cancer is the rapid and uncontrolled division of cells, leading to the appearance of a tumor in human tissues or organs. This disease is one that may not appear for a long time. Affects human organs and tissues. As a result, organs stop functioning.
You can die from a cold, a runny nose, or hiccups - the probability is a tiny fraction of a percent, but it exists. The mortality rate from common flu is up to 30% in children under one year of age and the elderly. And if you catch one of the nine most dangerous infections, your chance of recovery will be calculated in fractions of a percent.
1. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
1st place among fatal infections went to spongiform encephalopathy, also known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The infectious agent-pathogen was discovered relatively recently - humanity became acquainted with prion diseases in the mid-twentieth century. Prions are proteins that cause dysfunction and then cell death. Due to their special resistance, they can be transmitted from animals to humans through the digestive tract - a person becomes ill by eating a piece of beef with the nervous tissue of an infected cow. The disease lies dormant for years. Then the patient begins to develop personality disorders - he becomes sloppy, grumpy, becomes depressed, his memory suffers, sometimes his vision suffers, even to the point of blindness. Within 8-24 months, dementia develops and the patient dies from brain disorders. The disease is very rare (only 100 people have fallen ill over the past 15 years), but absolutely incurable.
The human immunodeficiency virus has moved from 1st to 2nd place quite recently. It is also classified as a new disease - until the second half of the 20th century, doctors did not know about infectious lesions of the immune system. According to one version, HIV appeared in Africa, passing to humans from chimpanzees. According to another, he escaped from a secret laboratory. In 1983, scientists managed to isolate an infectious agent that causes immune damage. The virus was transmitted from person to person through blood and semen through contact with damaged skin or mucous membrane. At first, people from the “risk group” – homosexuals, drug addicts, prostitutes – fell ill with HIV, but as the epidemic grew, cases of infection appeared through blood transfusions, instruments, during childbirth, etc. Over the 30 years of the epidemic, HIV has infected more than 40 million people, of whom about 4 million have already died, and the remaining may die if HIV progresses to the AIDS stage - a defeat of the immune system that makes the body defenseless to any infections. The first documented case of recovery was recorded in Berlin - an AIDS patient received a successful bone marrow transplant from an HIV-resistant donor.
3. Rabies
Rabies virus, the causative agent of rabies, takes an honorable 3rd place. Infection occurs through saliva through a bite. The incubation period ranges from 10 days to 1 year. The disease begins with a depressed state, slightly elevated temperature, itching and pain at the bite site. After 1-3 days, an acute phase occurs - rabies, which frightens others. The patient cannot drink; any sudden noise, flash of light, or the sound of flowing water causes convulsions, hallucinations and violent attacks begin. After 1-4 days, the frightening symptoms weaken, but paralysis appears. The patient dies from respiratory failure. A full course of preventive vaccinations reduces the likelihood of disease to hundredths of a percent. However, once symptoms of the disease appear, recovery is almost impossible. With the help of the experimental “Milwaukee Protocol” (immersion in an artificial coma), four children have been saved since 2006.
4. Hemorrhagic fever
This term hides a whole group of tropical infections caused by filoviruses, arboviruses and arenaviruses. Some fevers are transmitted by airborne droplets, some through mosquito bites, some directly through blood, contaminated things, meat and milk of sick animals. All hemorrhagic fevers are characterized by highly resistant infectious carriers and are not destroyed in the external environment. The symptoms at the first stage are similar - high temperature, delirium, pain in muscles and bones, then bleeding from physiological orifices of the body, hemorrhages, and bleeding disorders occur. The liver, heart, and kidneys are often affected; necrosis of the fingers and toes may occur due to impaired blood supply. Mortality ranges from 10-20% for yellow fever (the safest, there is a vaccine, treatable) to 90% for Marburg fever and Ebola (vaccines and treatment do not exist).
Yersinia pestis, the plague bacterium, has long since fallen from its honorary pedestal as the deadliest. During the Great Plague of the 14th century, this infection managed to destroy about a third of the population of Europe; in the 17th century, it wiped out a fifth of London. However, already at the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian doctor Vladimir Khavkin developed the so-called Khavkin vaccine, which protects against the disease. The last large-scale plague epidemic occurred in 1910-11, affecting about 100,000 people in China. In the 21st century, the average number of cases is about 2,500 per year. Symptoms - the appearance of characteristic abscesses (buboes) in the area of the axillary or inguinal lymph nodes, fever, fever, delirium. If modern antibiotics are used, the mortality rate for the uncomplicated form is low, but for the septic or pulmonary form (the latter is also dangerous because of the “plague cloud” around patients, consisting of bacteria released when coughing) is up to 90%.
6. Anthrax
The anthrax bacterium, Bacillus anthracis, was the first pathogenic microorganism caught by “microbe hunter” Robert Koch in 1876 and identified as the causative agent of the disease. Anthrax is highly contagious, forms special spores that are unusually resistant to external influences - the carcass of a cow that died from the ulcer can poison the soil for several decades. Infection occurs through direct contact with pathogens, and occasionally through the gastrointestinal tract or air contaminated with spores. Up to 98% of the disease is cutaneous, with the appearance of necrotic ulcers. Further recovery or transition of the disease to the intestinal or especially dangerous pulmonary form of the disease is possible, with the occurrence of blood poisoning and pneumonia. The mortality rate for the cutaneous form without treatment is up to 20%, for the pulmonary form – up to 90%, even with treatment.
The last of the “old guard” of especially dangerous infections, which still causes deadly epidemics - 200,000 patients, more than 3,000 deaths in 2010 in Haiti. The causative agent is Vibrio cholerae. Transmitted through feces, contaminated water and food. Up to 80% of people who have been in contact with the pathogen remain healthy or have a mild form of the disease. But 20% are faced with moderate, severe and fulminant forms of the disease. Symptoms of cholera are painless diarrhea up to 20 times a day, vomiting, convulsions and severe dehydration, leading to death. With full treatment (tetracycline antibiotics and fluoroquinolones, hydration, restoration of electrolyte and salt balance), the chance of death is low; without treatment, mortality reaches 85%.
8. Meningococcal infection
Meningococcus Neisseria meningitidis is the most insidious infectious agent among the especially dangerous ones. The body is affected not only by the pathogen itself, but also by toxins released during the decay of dead bacteria. The carrier is only a person, it is transmitted by airborne droplets, through close contact. Mostly children and people with weakened immune systems fall ill, about 15% of the total number of those in contact. An uncomplicated disease - nasopharyngitis, runny nose, sore throat and fever, without consequences. Meningococcemia is characterized by high fever, rash and hemorrhages, meningitis by septic brain damage, meningoencephalitis by paralysis. Mortality without treatment is up to 70%, with timely started therapy – 5%.
9. Tularemia
It is also known as mouse fever, deer disease, “lesser plague”, etc. Caused by the small gram-negative bacillus Francisella tularensis. Transmitted through the air, through ticks, mosquitoes, contact with patients, food, etc., virulence is close to 100%. The symptoms are similar in appearance to the plague - buboes, lymphadenitis, high fever, pulmonary forms. It is not lethal, but causes long-term impairment and, theoretically, is an ideal basis for the development of bacteriological weapons.
10. Ebola virus
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the blood, secretions, and other fluids and organs of an infected person. The virus is not transmitted by airborne droplets. The incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days.
Ebola fever is characterized by a sudden increase in body temperature, severe general weakness, muscle pain, headaches, and sore throat. This is often accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, kidney and liver dysfunction, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory tests reveal low levels of white blood cells and platelets along with elevated liver enzymes.
In severe cases of the disease, intensive replacement therapy is required, as patients often suffer from dehydration and require intravenous fluids or oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes.
There is still no specific treatment for Ebola hemorrhagic fever or a vaccine against it. As of 2012, none of the major pharmaceutical companies have invested money in developing a vaccine against the Ebola virus, since such a vaccine potentially has a very limited market: in 36 years (since 1976), there have been only 2,200 cases of illness.
Health is the most important thing that we must protect as best we can. Modern medicine has learned to treat many deadly diseases or is on the verge of doing so.
Attention, some photographs in the material may make you feel unpleasant.
Most victims reported certain “fibers” or worms that had penetrated deep into the epidermis. These "threads" can be seen under a microscope. Many scientists believe that Morgellon is caused by an unknown mutation of a fungus that can survive even at absolute zero.
The version about the psychogenic nature of the disease is also still popular. In 2012, a study was published that no known pathogens were found in patients, and widespread media coverage of Morgellons disease triggered a sharp surge in the disease.
By 2017, about 20 thousand complaints with similar symptoms were registered. Geography of the disease: USA (all 50 states), less common in the Netherlands, Australia, UK
Temporary blindness
Melbourne resident Natalie Adler suffers from an unusual condition. Every three days the girl goes blind, that is, she literally cannot open her eyes due to severe muscle spasms. The cycle repeats every three days. This first occurred after a sinus infection complicated by a staph infection. 
Since then, Natalie has had to plan her life in such a way as to have time to get everything done during the “sighted” period. “My 18th birthday fell on a blind day, but on my 21st birthday I saw everything and my friends threw me a huge party!”
Paraneoplastic pemphigus
There are several types of pemphigus - a dermatological disease with an autoimmune nature (Autoimmune diseases are a class of diseases in which lymphocytes begin to attack their own, healthy cells of the body). Its paraneoplastic variety is the least common, but very dangerous.The immune system begins to attack the keratinocytes that make up the bulk of the epidermis, causing voids to form and fill with fluid. In these places, wet blisters form, through which external infections easily penetrate.
The disease is quite rare: from 1993 to 2003, 163 cases were recorded in Western countries. About 90% of patients with paraneoplastic pemphigus died within a year due to sepsis or disease-related pulmonary failure.
Allergy to water
Aquagenic urticaria is a disease in which any contact of the skin with water, even with one’s own sweat, brings suffering to the patient. An allergic reaction occurs even to distilled water, purified from any impurities. Drinking water is very painful - you have to drink milk, the body does not react to it so much. Taking a bath turns into hellish torture, as does leaving the house in rainy or snowy weather. 
A water allergy affects approximately one in 230 million people. In 2017, scientists were aware of 32 water allergies. For example, British Rachel Warwick, who was diagnosed with aquagenic urticaria at the age of 12. The disease manifested itself after a visit to a public swimming pool. The girl admitted that it is quite possible to survive with the syndrome, but there can be no talk of a full life. All she dreams of is dancing in the rain or swimming in the lake.
Trimethylaminuria, or fishy odor syndrome
Fishy odor syndrome causes a disorder in the FMO3 gene, which causes the liver to lose its ability to break down odorous trimethylamines into their odorless oxides. As a result, this substance accumulates, and its excess comes out with sweat, through the pores of the skin. A person spreads a fetid cloud around himself; he may not smell it himself, but those around him inevitably move away from a patient with such a diagnosis. 
Doctors do not yet know how to “fix” FMO3, and advise poor souls who smell fishy to exclude eggs, legumes, all types of cabbage, and soy products from their diet, as well as take activated charcoal daily and wash more often.
Analgia
Congenital insensitivity to pain occurs due to a mutation in the SCN9A gene and is quite common in children under 2 years of age. But there are cases - several hundred for the entire population of the globe - when immunity persists into adulthood. Patients with analgia are significantly more likely to suffer a burn, fracture, or sepsis.Steven Peet from Washington, like his twin brother, knows firsthand about the insidiousness of this syndrome. “I was 6 years old, I was roller skating, I fell and heard my mother scream. I look and a bone is sticking out of my leg. I didn’t feel anything,” he recalled. As a child, he broke his left leg almost every month, until the guardianship authorities removed the children from the family, suspecting violent acts. The parents had to spend a lot of time, effort and eloquence to prove their innocence.
Due to constant injuries, Steve developed arthritis by the age of 30. The fate of his brother was much more tragic. Doctors promised that in a couple of years he would be confined to a wheelchair. After this, the young man committed suicide.
Kuru disease
The terrible disease Kuru is guaranteed to be fatal. First, a person begins to have a terrible headache, immunity decreases, and a runny nose and cough appear. Then the nerve cells responsible for coordinating movements are affected, so the patient ceases to control the movements of the limbs, and he is seized with insane trembling. In 9–12 months, brain tissue turns into a spongy substance, and the person dies. But the majority die earlier - from associated complications, infection or pneumonia. 
Kuru disease is found only among the Fore tribes of Papua New Guinea. For a long time, the tribe practiced a frightening funeral custom - women and children ritually ate the brain of the deceased.
As the American doctor Carlton Gaidushek found out in the 50s of the 20th century, prions - harmful protein structures contained in brain tissue - are to blame for the disease. Once the Fore were weaned off ritual cannibalism, the Kuru disease almost disappeared.
Argyrosis
A rare pathology, also called “blue skin syndrome”. It is caused by excess silver in the body. Thus, Californian Paul Karason, who became silver-blue at the age of 57, uncontrollably consumed a homemade balm made from colloidal silver and distilled water. The man died of a heart attack at 62. 
A similar deviation was observed in our compatriot from Kazan. Valery V.'s appearance suddenly changed after harmless treatment of a runny nose with drops containing silver. His skin took on a silver-blue hue and his hair became blond.
Allergy to electricity
Doctors are still debating the nature of the disease that plagued the character from Better Call Saul, starring Bob Odenkirk. Some doctors believe that allergies to electromagnetic fields have psychosomatic roots. One way or another, there are more and more people complaining of headaches and deterioration in health when turning on electrical appliances. 
In some regions (Africa, Australia, South America) such a problem has not even been heard of, but, for example, in Sweden, electromagnetic allergies are officially recognized: 2.5% of the population suffers from it.
Sometimes the syndrome takes on such acute forms that patients are forced to flee into the wilderness. In the state of West Virginia, USA, there is an Internet-free “reservation”. On its territory, Wi-Fi is prohibited at the legislative level due to the giant radio telescope located nearby. Any signals may interfere with its operation. About 200 people with hypersensitivity to electricity came to the district for permanent residence.
Fatal familial insomnia
Hereditary prion disease leading to death. In fact, the patient dies from insomnia. The first case was recorded in 1979. While investigating the deaths of two of his wife's relatives, Italian doctor Ignazio Reuter found deaths in her family tree with similar symptoms: insomnia leading to extreme exhaustion. In 1984, another relative died of insomnia, and his brain was sent for further research to the United States. 
At the end of the 90s, scientists managed to find out the nature of the disease: due to a mutation in the 20th chromosome, aspargine changes to aspartic acid, as a result of which the protein molecule is transformed into a prion. By a chain reaction, the prion converts other protein molecules into similar ones. Plaques accumulate in the part of the brain responsible for sleep, which cause chronic insomnia, exhaustion and death.
There are 4 phases of the disease: during the first, a person becomes obsessed with paranoid ideas; by the fourth, he stops responding to external stimuli. The disease lasts from 7 to 36 months; There is no treatment, even the strongest sleeping pills do not help. In total, 40 families are known in which this disease is inherited.
Progressive fibrodysplasia
On average, one child in two million people is born with this diagnosis. It is one of the rarest and most painful diseases in the world. In total, in the history of medicine, 700 cases of fibrodysplasia have been recorded, when in a person any tissue begins to degenerate into bone. 
In progressive fibrodysplasia, bone tissue grows uncontrollably at the expense of adjacent muscle tissue. The pathological process is most often triggered by injury, even the smallest one. Moreover, surgical intervention is not an option. If you cut out the ossified area, this will provoke a new focus of bone growth.
Fibrodysplasia is a genetic disease that is inherited and until recently had no cure at all. In 2006, a group of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania discovered the gene responsible for this mutation. Since then, work has begun on gene blockers in the ACVR1/ALK2 gene.
Childhood progeria
Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, a genetic pathology that causes a newborn's body to age approximately 8 times faster. At the same time, psychologically the child remains a child.Children in an old man's body
Children with Hutchinson's typically die by age 10–13. Long-livers live up to 27 years. Science knows of only one case in which a patient with this syndrome crossed this threshold: in 1986, a 45-year-old Japanese man with progeria died of acute heart failure.
The rarest disease in the world is Fields disease
Perhaps Fields' disease can be called the rarest disease known to man. History knows two cases of this disease, both occurring simultaneously in the same family: twin sisters Catherine and Kirsty Fields from Wales are sick. 
In 1998, 4-year-old girls were seen by a doctor who, even after careful research, could not determine their diagnosis. The sisters slowly lost the ability to control their bodies, but what caused the muscle degradation that inexorably engulfed the entire body is unknown.
At the age of 9, Catherine and Kirsty moved to wheelchairs, and at 14 they simultaneously lost their speech. In 2012, they were given speech devices similar to the one used by Stephen Hawking. “Now we can be distinguished by our accent. I chose Australian, and my sister chose American. The electronic voice allows us to even argue with each other,” joked Katrin.
Most diseases entail serious consequences for health, and some of them should rather be called developmental features - apart from inconvenience and strange appearance, they do not bring anything. The editors of the site suggest reading more about one of these features - increased hairiness.
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Many years ago, nothing living existed on Earth, but the appearance of various organisms became the impetus for the development of the world and its evolution. Over time, people appeared who began to develop and improve their own capabilities. Various organisms have appeared that influence the living conditions of mankind. Over the years of evolution, these organisms also developed and created conditions for themselves.
Many organisms are still being studied, and some are still unknown to mankind. A variety of bacteria or bacilli are an integral part of human life. Some of them, in addition to actual benefits, can become destructive for a person, even death. Their detailed study allows us to understand the nature of the processes, but it is completely impossible to get rid of this.
Bacteria and other microorganisms become a source of human diseases, which are difficult to count in our time. It all starts from an ordinary virus and ends with a plague. Sufficient knowledge about bacteria and viruses will prevent the emergence and development of the most terrible human diseases. Caution and the ability to protect yourself in accessible ways are also key factors in maintaining health and life.
We present to your attention the top 10 the most terrible diseases of mankind which are deadly. You need to love your own body and protect it by any means available.
1. AIDS
At the moment, this disease affects 33-45 million people on Earth. This is acquired immune deficiency syndrome. It is also called the “Plague of the 20th century.” The disease develops after HIV infection enters the body. The cells of the immune system are gradually destroyed. Her work is suppressed and becomes ineffective, after which the person is given a terrible diagnosis - AIDS.
In the list of the most terrible diseases of mankind, this disease is in the first position, because there are no medicines that can effectively treat it. After contracting this infection, you are more likely to die from a common cold or flu.
2.
The main pathogens are viruses called Variolamajor and Variolaminor. With timely and effective treatment, death can be prevented. The mortality rate from this disease reaches 90%. The last case of the disease was recorded in 1977.
After suffering from smallpox, a person can go blind, and large scars remain throughout the body. The peculiarity of the virus is its survivability and endurance. For many years it does not die when exposed to low temperatures, and can survive at temperatures of one hundred degrees. After diagnosing the problem, small ulcers appear on the human body, which begin to fester over time. Nowadays, there is a vaccine against Smallpox that is given to every person at birth.
3. Bubonic plague (Black Death)
This disease is localized throughout the world. The main causative agent is the Yersinia pestis virus1. The only treatment is the use of strong antibiotics, as well as taking sulfonamide.
Previously, the bubonic plague destroyed half of the population of Europe. Several tens of millions of people died from this infection. According to some data, the mortality rate was 99%. There is no uniform and accurate information on the number of deaths.
4.
The disease has affected more than half a billion people and is confidently included in the list with other most terrible diseases of mankind in history. The Spanish flu was spread throughout the world. A virus called H1N1 is the main causative agent. Alcohol-based drugs were used for treatment.
The first and widespread infection with the virus was in Spain. In the country, 40% of the population fell ill. A famous victim of the virus was Max Weber, one of the politicians and economists of the time. Among all those infected, up to 100 million people died.
5.
The history includes 80 cases of the disease. The cause of the disease lies in a genetic defect. The peculiarity of the disease is that it cannot be cured, so a person must accept it and continue to live.
The main characteristic of the disease is premature aging of the entire human body. All patients have a short and at the same time painful life. This is the main reason why progeria is on the list of the most terrible diseases of mankind.
The most famous among the progeria patients was a black guy. He was a DJ and video blogger. Died at 26 years old. At the age of 12, a child with progeria syndrome may resemble a ninety-year-old man. Patients are characterized by a lack of hair and small body size.
6.
The causative agent of this disease is the Streptococcus pyogenes virus. After it enters an open wound on the human body, the disease begins to progress. The only effective treatment is amputation of the affected limb.
The disease, despite its rarity, is terrible. On average, half of infected people die. All treatment is limited to amputation, because there are no other effective methods. Complete destruction and death of tissue occurs.
Diagnosis is not easy. Initially, the patient may develop a fever, which is a symptom of most other diseases.
7.
Around 120 million people are affected worldwide. The disease is actively developing in Africa. The basis of the disease is the Brugiamalayi virus. The main method of treatment is lymphomassage or surgical intervention.
The main problem is changing a person’s appearance, because he turns into a “monster”. The disease is considered exotic because its main distribution is in the tropics. The reason for this is favorable conditions for the development of pathogens. Their penetration into the body triggers the disease. It develops with the appearance of edema, after which the area of skin enlarges and becomes a regular mass without shape.
8.
According to the latest data, a third of the world's population is affected by this disease. The main reason is the penetration of mycobacteria into the body, which causes tuberculosis. Chemotherapy and various drugs are effective treatments.
Previously, tuberculosis was considered incurable, and many people died from it. It is believed that the disease mainly affects those people who have a low social status, because their lifestyle increases the likelihood of getting sick. Although in fact this is far from the case and people with tuberculosis are found among all segments of the population. It may not the most terrible disease of humanity, but the treatment is long and not always pleasant.
In modern conditions, the disease is treated in a hospital. The course is prescribed individually and can take from several weeks to several years. If the disease is advanced, there is a possibility of death and inability to work fully (disability).
9. Diabetes
Up to 300 million people have heard this diagnosis. The only methods of treatment are diet, the use of insulin injections, and medications that lower blood sugar levels.
The essence of the disease is the inability of insulin to deliver glucose from the human blood to the cells. There are two types of diabetes with different symptoms and treatments. Over time, diabetes can cause the development of many other diseases, such as heart attack and stroke, blindness, diabetic foot, and kidney dysfunction.
10. Oncological diseases (Cancer)
Every year, oncology is diagnosed in several tens of millions of people. There are many reasons for its occurrence - from genetics to poor lifestyle. The only treatment option is surgical intervention or the use of therapy, both radiation and chemical.
As the disease develops, rapid division of cells begins, which forms a tumor. The peculiarity of the disease is that it can be asymptomatic. Both organs and tissues are affected. Over time, the affected organ will not be able to function normally and perform its tasks, which will inevitably lead to death.
It is worth noting that the list of the most terrible diseases of mankind presented in the article is far from complete. There are still quite a lot of terrible and deadly diseases. Here are some of them:
(infantile spinal paralysis). The causative agent is poliovirus hominis. An infectious disease in which the spinal cord is affected by poliovirus. There is a vaccine for polio, the use of which has helped to almost completely defeat this disease.
Leprosy(Leprosy or Hansen's disease). The causative agent is the mycobacterium Mycobacterium leprae. With this disease, the human skin and peripheral nervous system are mainly affected. By 1990, the number of people infected with leprosy had decreased from 12 million people to 2 million. According to official WHO data, in 2009 there were 213 thousand cases. Currently, this disease can be effectively treated if it is detected early.
Flu(ARVI) is an acute infectious disease that affects the human respiratory tract. Currently, more than 2000 viruses have been identified that cause this disease. In one year, during seasonal epidemics, between a quarter and half a million people worldwide die from influenza. Most of them are people of retirement age. The most dangerous are 3 subtypes of HA viruses - H1, H2, H3 and two NA subtypes - N1, N2. The main danger in this disease is complications, because... they can cause death. The basis for preventing influenza is periodic vaccination. Treatment is carried out with antiviral drugs. Vitamin C is also effective in the early stages and as a preventive measure. One of the types of influenza, Spanish Flu, presented in our list of the most terrible diseases of mankind, is considered one of the largest disasters in human history.
In conclusion, I would like to wish everyone a full life and good health!
