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This is a list of infectious diseases arranged by name, along with the infectious agents that cause them, the vaccines that can prevent or cure them when they exist and their current status. Some on the list are vaccine-preventable diseases .
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.
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.
Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. [1] This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and many are beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number of these pathogenic species in humans is estimated to be fewer than a hundred. [2]
Not all infectious agents cause disease in all hosts. For example, less than 5% of individuals infected with polio develop disease. [23] On the other hand, some infectious agents are highly virulent. The prion causing mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease invariably kills all animals and people that are infected. [24]
A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells. [ 1 ] Examples are the common cold , gastroenteritis and pneumonia .
A human pathogen is a pathogen (microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus) that causes disease in humans.. The human physiological defense against common pathogens (such as Pneumocystis) is mainly the responsibility of the immune system with help by some of the body's normal microbiota.
Infectious diseases are diseases caused by biological agents, which can be transmitted to others, rather than by genetic, physical or chemical agents. This definition includes disease caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and prions. This page includes list of infectious diseases as pertains to humans; those affecting animals are listed ...