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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.
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 ...
In biology, a pathogen (Greek: πάθος, pathos "suffering", "passion" and -γενής, -genēs "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. 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.
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.
Infectious agent Common name Diagnosis Treatment Vaccine(s) Acinetobacter baumannii: Acinetobacter infections Culture Supportive care No Actinomyces israelii, Actinomyces gerencseriae and Propionibacterium propionicus: Actinomycosis: Histologic findings Penicillin, doxycycline, and sulfonamides: No Adenoviridae: Adenovirus infection
Direct visualization of the pathogen, the identification of different strains, immunological responses in the host, how the infection is spread and, the combination of these should all be taken into account to determine the probability that an infectious agent is the cause of the disease. A conclusive determination of a causal role of an ...
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]
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 infectious agents or pathogens to another susceptible host ...