2014 was a year of stress for doctors which left them worried to find the cure of the Ebola disease. The Ebola virus was the mysterious disease for many years and now, there are many antiviral medical treatments available. But, doctors are still working to develop a more powerful vaccine. Thousands of advanced medical solutions are developed, still there are many diseases left incurable. Even some of them have not been explained by doctors yet. All of them are so bizarre that no one believes that they are real. Today, we are listing some terrifying and weird diseases that science failed to explain.
Table of Contents
12. Jumping Frenchman Disorder
Image Source: io9
This disease was named after a group of 19th century lumberjacks (Jumping Frenchman of Maine) who lived in Maine. This rare disorder was first found in the northern regions of Maine. It was first noticed by George Miller Beard in 1878. He noticed that people have started to react abnormally during sudden stimuli. The most common symptoms were screaming, jumping, yelling and hitting to each other like a small child. They often behave like a puppet.
The Unanswered Question: The exact origin of the disease is still unknown to us. Several researchers said that this could be the result of environmental, psychological or genetic disorder. It may also be a result of the way of their living.
11. Dancing Plague
Image Source: wikimedia
The Dancing Plague of 1518 was also known by the name of dancing mania, arose in Alsace, France. It began with Frau Troffea who commenced to dance continuously for six days. After one week 34 people had joined him and within a month, there were more than 400 dancers. It is a mysterious disease that affects thousands of people. It can cause them to dance uncontrollably until they die of a heart attack or exhaustion.
The Unanswered Question: Historical documents issued by the Strasbourg city council clears that they danced. But, the reason behind their dance is still a mysterious question for researchers. Some locals believe that it was a natural disease while others assumed the supernatural causes. The modern medicine has no explanation why they danced till their death.
10. Sleeping Sickness
Image Source: wikimedia
Sleeping sickness (biologically known as Encephalitis Lethargica) is a type of disorder transmitted by the tsetse fly. It was first introduced in 1917. It majorly attacks the brain and left the victim speechless and motionless like a statue.
The Unanswered Question: The cause of the sleeping sickness is still not known. There are many theories related to this disease. In 2004, a team of researchers stated that the disease is caused by some immune disorder. Most of the patients died during the initial stage and those survived this, live rest of their lives in hell. After almost one century, some researchers believed that a bacterium triggered the immune system while another thinks that a virus is the culprit.
9. Mystery Calf Disease
Image Source: stuff.co
The blood sweating disease of calf is also known as the mystery calf disease. It was first diagnosed in 2007 in Germany and spread over England, Wales, Belgian, Netherlands and France. It is a genetic disease that decreases red blood cells. It results in depletion of bone marrow and destroys platelets. It also fails the blood clotting ability and it bleeds spontaneously from nostrils, mouth and injection sites.
The Unanswered Question: Most of the people don’t see it as a disease. Its vaccine was introduced in 2008 but there is no evidence of any risk that a vaccinated cow would affect human health or not. And, they are also rejected to enter into the food chain of human being.
8. Brainerd Diarrhea
Image Source: klimg
Brainerd diarrhea is the extreme level of common diarrhea condition which lasts for months. The first case of the brainred diarrhea was noticed in Minnesota in 1983. That year, only ten cases were recorded and later in 1996, around 200 more cases were recorded.
The Unanswered Question: It has been clear that this disease is related to the consumption of raw milk and untreated water. But, the exact cause of the disease is still unknown. In all the cases, the disease disappeared itself and there is no treatment available.
7. Sweating Sickness
Image Source: webmd
Sweating sickness (or English sweate) was a highly venomous and deadly disease, occurred in England in 1485. It spread at the tremendous rate and killed thousands of people. Its symptoms were very sudden and began with cold and severe pain and followed by sweating before death. It was so deadly that it killed a person within few hours.
The Unanswered Question: No one has any idea about this mysterious disease. Is it a virus, bacteria or any poisonous thing? According to few hypotheses, it might cause by Hanta virus (similar to Ebola virus). But there is no proof about this. Some people blamed the poor sanitation and toxic water body system of that time. There are also many other predictions of the cause but there is no sufficient evidence.
6. Stiff Person Syndrome
Image Source: discovermagzine
Stiff person syndrome is a rare neurological disease that causes a body to become progressively rigid. It was first noticed in 1956 and occurs in one in one million people. Their muscles constantly contracts and at the end, it paralyzes the whole body. Its symptoms are chronic pain and impaired function of the limbs.
The Unanswered Question: In the 1990s, doctors found that high amount of Glutamic acid decarboxylase present in the blood caused this disease. They also discovered many treatments to cure the disease but the exact mechanism of the condition is still unclear. There are no medical tests that confirm its presence at the early stage. The rareness of the disease makes it more complicated to find a more effective treatment.
Read: 25+ Most Bizarre Phobias that Really Exist
5. Nodding Syndrome
Image Source: newscientist
Nodding syndrome is a recent and very little known disease, occurred in 1960s in Sudan. It mostly affects children younger than 15 years. It is a physically disabling disease and currently restricted to some areas of South Africa. It stunts their body growth including their brain which left them handicapped.
The Unanswered Question: At the present time, there is no cure for the disease. The cause of the disease is also not known. The treatment of the victims was diagnosed based on their specific symptoms. Some investigators believe the wartime chemical exposure to be the cause of the disease while some others researching whether a nutrient deficiency is the main cause or not.
4. Kuru Disease
Image Source: wikimedia
Kuru is a neurological disorder, started in the tribal regions of Papua New Guinea. It is a type of transmissible disease. It is similar to the mad cow disease. It makes thousands of tiny holes in the human brain, which grew over time. It is also known as the laughing sickness due to the pathological effect of bursting laughter.
The Unanswered Question: Nobody can explain the origin of the disease. Some doctors believe that it can be caused by a bad protein (prion) found in the human body. Some evidence shows the cause through eating a dead human in tribes.
3. Marburg Virus
Image Source: wikimedia
Marburg virus is a deadly virus which caused a hemorrhagic fever. It was first described in Marburg and Frankfurt in 1967. At a construction site, few workers were accidentally exposed to an infected monkey. That year, 31 people became infected and seven of them died of infection. After the first case of the virus, it was noticed at a different place every time.
The Unanswered Question: Till now, nobody knows how it is transmitted. As of 2014, it has no vaccine due to insufficient research. Only available predominant treatment is the supportive therapy.
2. Porphyria Disease
Porphyria disease is also commonly known as the vampire disease. This is because of the bleeding in the gums, which gives the appearance of fangs. The second most interesting fact is the purple discoloration of feces and urine of patients. This disease was first examined by Felix Hoppe in 1871.
The Unanswered Question: Scientists predicted that this could be by DNA mutation but there are no sufficient evidences. This disease starts with the heme precursors excreted in the urine. In some cases, red urine color may also be seen.
1. Aquagenic Urticaria
Aquagenic urticaria is an extremely rare water allergic disease. Its symptoms include a painful skin reaction after contact with water. It is so rare that, till now, it has affected around 30 people. Anything from the rain, their own sweat and tears can also cause rashes. In a few extreme cases, victims are suffering from their own body as the majority of our body is made up of water.
The Unanswered Question: There is confusion that is it an allergy or a disease. Till this date, there is no treatment available. However, there are many therapies available, used to diminish the effects.
Very
Good information provided