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Leukopenia (from Greek λευκός (leukos) 'white' and πενία (penia) 'deficiency') is a decrease in the number of leukocytes (WBC). Found in the blood, they are the white blood cells, and are the body's primary defense against an infection. Thus the condition of leukopenia places individuals at increased risk of infection.
Human infectious diseases may be characterized by their case fatality rate (CFR), the proportion of people diagnosed with a disease who die from it (cf. mortality rate).It should not be confused with the infection fatality rate (IFR), the estimated proportion of people infected by a disease-causing agent, including asymptomatic and undiagnosed infections, who die from the disease.
Neutropenia is an abnormally low concentration of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) in the blood. [4] Neutrophils make up the majority of circulating white blood cells and serve as the primary defense against infections by destroying bacteria, bacterial fragments and immunoglobulin-bound viruses in the blood. [5]
Most are non-infectious, although there are some non-communicable infectious diseases, such as parasitic diseases in which the parasite's life cycle does not include direct host-to-host transmission. The four main NCDs that are the leading causes of death globally are cardiovascular disease , cancer , chronic respiratory diseases , and diabetes .
Agranulocytosis, also known as agranulosis or granulopenia, is an acute condition involving a severe and dangerous lowered white blood cell count (leukopenia, most commonly of neutrophils) and thus causing neutropenia in the circulating blood. [1] It is a severe lack of one major class of infection-fighting white blood cells.
Since opportunistic infections can cause severe disease, much emphasis is placed on measures to prevent infection. Such a strategy usually includes restoration of the immune system as soon as possible, avoiding exposures to infectious agents, and using antimicrobial medications ("prophylactic medications") directed against specific infections. [50]
This is a life-threatening disorder that is a characteristic of aplastic anemia. [3] There are also two general causes of cytopenia: autoimmune and refractory. Autoimmune cytopenia is caused by an autoimmune disease when your body produces antibodies to destroy the healthy blood cells.
Bacteremia can have several important health consequences. Immune responses to the bacteria can cause sepsis and septic shock , which, particularly if severe sepsis and then septic shock occurs, have high mortality rates , especially if not treated quickly (though, if treated early, currently mild sepsis can usually be dealt with successfully ...