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An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. [1] An infectious disease , also known as a transmissible disease or communicable disease , is an illness resulting from an infection.
In epidemiology, infectivity is the ability of a pathogen to establish an infection. More specifically, infectivity is the extent to which the pathogen can enter, survive, and multiply in a host. It is measured by the ratio of the number of people who become infected to the total number exposed to the pathogen. [1]
Infectious diseases specialists employ a variety of antimicrobial agents to help treat infections. The type of antimicrobial depends on the organism that is causing the infection. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections; antiviral agents treat viral infections; and antifungal agents treat fungal infections. [citation needed]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to concepts related to infectious diseases in humans.. Infection – transmission, entry/invasion after evading/overcoming defense, establishment, and replication of disease-causing microscopic organisms (pathogens) inside a host organism, and the reaction of host tissues to them and to the toxins they produce.
An infectious disease agent can be transmitted in two ways: as horizontal disease agent transmission from one individual to another in the same generation (peers in the same age group) [3] by either direct contact (licking, touching, biting), or indirect contact through air – cough or sneeze (vectors or fomites that allow the transmission of the agent causing the disease without physical ...
According to current statistics, hepatitis-B is the most common infectious disease in the world, affecting some 2 billion people -- that's more than one-quarter of the world's population.
Such an infection is called a subclinical infection. In epidemiology , particularly in the discussion of infectious disease dynamics (mathematical modeling of disease spread), the infectious period is the time interval during which a host (individual or patient) is infectious, i.e. capable of directly or indirectly transmitting pathogenic ...
A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. [1] The term pathogen came into use in the 1880s. [2] [3] Typically, the term pathogen is used to describe an infectious microorganism or agent, such as a virus, bacterium, protozoan, prion, viroid, or fungus.