Related topics: bacteria , immune cells , hiv , immune response , immune system
Infection
hideAn infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning of the host and can lead to chronic wounds, gangrene, loss of an infected limb, and even death. The host's response to infection is inflammation. Colloquially, a pathogen is usually considered a microscopic organism though the definition is broader, including parasites, fungi, viruses, prions, and viroids. A symbiosis between parasite and host, whereby the relationship is beneficial for the former but detrimental to the latter, is characterised as parasitism. The branch of medicine that focuses on infections and pathogens is infectious disease. "When infection attacks the body, anti-infective drugs can help turn the tide of battle. Four types of anti-infective drugs exist: antibacterial, antiviral, antitubercular, and antifungal. A secondary infection is an infection that occurs during or following treatment of another already existing primary infection.
For more information about Infection, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with infection
UNL research aims to understand homelessness among women
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
23 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Women make up nearly one-third of the homeless population in the United States. Yet little is known about how they become homeless or how they live. University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologist Les Whitbeck ...
Novel nanotechnology heals abscesses caused by resistant staph bacteria
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 22, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a new approach for treating and healing skin abscesses caused by bacteria resistant to most antibiotics. The study ...
New, virulent strain of MRSA poses renewed antibiotic resistance concerns
Dec 22, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
The often feared and sometimes deadly infections caused by MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - are now moving out of hospitals and emerging as an even more virulent strain in community settings and on ath ...
Naturally occurring lipid blocks RSV infection in lungs
Dec 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered that a naturally occurring lipid in the lung can prevent RSV infection and inhibit spread of the virus after an infection is established. RSV is the major cause of hospitalization ...
Deadly infection more common than realized
Dec 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Staphylococcus aureus causes far more serious infections than previously realised, with more than 3,000 Swedes affected every year, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Taming the flu: Researchers create map of interactions between flu virus and its human host
Dec 18, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- There is no lack of worry this season over the flu, both the seasonal and H1N1 varieties, but there is a critical lack of understanding of the viruses that cause these illnesses. For years, ...
Mechanism discovered by which body's cells encourage tuberculosis infection
Dec 10, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
Scientists have discovered a signaling pathway that tuberculosis bacteria use to coerce disease-fighting cells to switch allegiance and work on their behalf. Epithelial cells line the airways and other surfaces ...
Research project yields better understanding of the defective protein that causes cystic fibrosis
Dec 18, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
A team of researchers studying the protein that, when defective or absent, causes cystic fibrosis (CF) has made an important discovery about how that protein is normally controlled and under what circumstances ...
Transplant guide highlights daily infection risks from factors like pets and food
Dec 18, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Keeping pets healthy can reduce infection risks for people who have received solid organ transplants and veterinarians should be seen as an integral part of the healthcare team. That's just one of the key pieces of advice ...
CDC: Rare infection passed on by Miss. organ donor
Dec 19, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
(AP) -- An extremely rare infection has been passed from an organ donor to at least one recipient in what is thought to be the first human-to-human transfer of the amoeba, medical officials said Friday.
Why Some Monkeys Don't Get AIDS
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 03, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two studies published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation provide a significant advance in understanding how some species of monkeys such as sooty mangabeys and African green ...
Aggressive infection control protects cancer patients from acquiring H1N1 influenza
Dec 16, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Despite a 100-fold increase in H1N1 influenza cases in the Seattle area during spring 2009, an aggressive infection control program to protect immunocompromised cancer patients and thorough screening measures resulted in ...
CDC: Fewer states seeing widespread swine flu
Dec 11, 2009 |
not rated yet |
2
(AP) -- Health officials say winter flu is just starting to show up in the U.S. while swine flu infections continue to wane.
Scientists reveal key structure from ebola virus
Dec 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the structure of a critical protein from the Ebola virus, which, though rare, is one of the deadliest viruses on the planet killing between 50 and 90 percent of ...
New York autopsies show 2009 H1N1 influenza virus damages entire airway
Dec 07, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
In fatal cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza, the virus can damage cells throughout the respiratory airway, much like the viruses that caused the 1918 and 1957 influenza pandemics, report researchers from the National Institutes ...
