Invasion of an organism's body by pathogenic agents
For other uses, see Infection (disambiguation).
"Infectious disease" redirects here. For the medical specialty, see Infectious diseases (medical specialty). For the journal, see Infectious Disease (journal).
Medical condition
Infection
False-colored electron micrograph showing a malaria sporozoite migrating through the mosquito midgut epithelial cell
Specialty
Infectious diseases
Causes
Bacterial, viral, parasitic, fungal, prion
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.
Infections can be caused by a wide range of pathogens, most prominently bacteria and viruses.[2] Hosts can fight infections using their immune systems. Mammalian hosts react to infections with an innate response, often involving inflammation, followed by an adaptive response.
Specific medications used to treat infections include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, antiprotozoals,[3] and antihelminthics. Infectious diseases resulted in 9.2 million deaths in 2013 (about 17% of all deaths).[4] The branch of medicine that focuses on infections is referred to as infectious diseases.[5]
^"infection", The Free Dictionary, archived from the original on 2018-07-19, retrieved 2023-11-17
^Sehgal M, Ladd HJ, Totapally B (2020-12-01). "Trends in Epidemiology and Microbiology of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock in Children". Hospital Pediatrics. 10 (12): 1021–1030. doi:10.1542/hpeds.2020-0174. ISSN 2154-1663. PMID 33208389. S2CID 227067133. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
^"Antiprotozoal Drugs". TheFreeDictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
^GBD 2013 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators (17 December 2014). "Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study". Lancet. 385 (9963): 117–71. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2. PMC 4340604. PMID 25530442.
^"Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine". Association of American Medical Colleges. Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-08-20. Infectious disease is the subspecialty of internal medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases of all types, in all organs, and in all ages of patients.
from an infection. Infections can be caused by a wide range of pathogens, most prominently bacteria and viruses. Hosts can fight infections using their...
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Fungal infection, also known as mycosis, is a disease caused by fungi. Different types are traditionally divided according to the part of the body affected;...
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infection (UTI) is an infection that affects a part of the urinary tract. When it affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a bladder infection (cystitis)...
life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive. Without treatment, the average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be...
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microbiology, the multiplicity of infection or MOI is the ratio of agents (e.g. phage or more generally virus, bacteria) to infection targets (e.g. cell). For...
Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are infections of blood caused by blood-borne pathogens. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of microbes...
Hookworm infection is an infection by a type of intestinal parasite known as a hookworm. Initially, itching and a rash may occur at the site of infection. Those...
Infection prevention and control is the discipline concerned with preventing healthcare-associated infections; a practical rather than academic sub-discipline...
Risk of infection is a nursing diagnosis which is defined as "the state in which an individual is at risk to be invaded by an opportunistic or pathogenic...
Anaerobic infections are caused by anaerobic bacteria. Obligately anaerobic bacteria do not grow on solid media in room air (0.04% carbon dioxide and 21%...
The Infection is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Chimaira. Released in the US on April 20, 2009 and worldwide on April 24, it reached...
Postpartum infections, also known as childbed fever and puerperal fever, are any bacterial infections of the female reproductive tract following childbirth...
In medicine, an endogenous infection is a disease arising from an infectious agent already present in the body but previously asymptomatic. Hendrik K...
Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infectious diseases involving the lower or upper respiratory tract. An infection of this type usually is further...
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Protozoan infections are parasitic diseases caused by organisms formerly classified in the kingdom Protozoa. These organisms are now classified in the...
disorders. Gastric disorders due to infection begin with gastritis, inflammation of the stomach lining. When infection is persistent the prolonged inflammation...
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