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.
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News tagged with infection
Scientists reveal key structure from ebola virus
Dec 08, 2009 |
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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 ...
CDC: Rare infection passed on by Miss. organ donor
Dec 19, 2009 |
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(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.
Killer fungus threatening amphibians
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Amphibians like frogs and toads have existed for 360 million years and survived when the dinosaurs didn't, but a new aquatic fungus is threatening to make many of them extinct, according to an article in the ...
Blocking biofilms: Alzheimer's research sheds light on potential treatments for urinary tract infections
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Research into Alzheimer's disease seems an unlikely approach to yield a better way to fight urinary tract infections (UTIs), but that's what scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ...
Taming the flu: Researchers create map of interactions between flu virus and its human host
Dec 18, 2009 |
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(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, ...
Naturally occurring lipid blocks RSV infection in lungs
13 hours ago |
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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 ...
Why circumcision reduces HIV risk
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 24, 2009 |
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The decreased risk of HIV infection in circumcised men cannot be explained by a reduction in sores from conditions such as herpes, according to research published in PLoS Medicine.
Papillomavirus silences innate immune response
Dec 03, 2009 |
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In the 1980s, Harald zur Hausen and his co-workers discovered that specific types of human papillomavirus (HPV) cause cervical cancer. Scientists soon found out how these pathogens cause cells to degenerate. ...
Mechanism discovered by which body's cells encourage tuberculosis infection
Dec 10, 2009 |
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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 ...
New study finds MRSA on the rise in hospital outpatients
Nov 24, 2009 |
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The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA -- an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics -- poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, ...
Alarming trend -- antiviral therapy to treat hepatitis C is declining in the US
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Researchers from the University of Michigan determined that only 663,000 of the approximately 3.9 million Americans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received antiviral therapy between 2002 and 2007. Treatment rates ...
UN: HIV outbreak peaked in 1996
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The number of people worldwide infected with the virus that causes AIDS - about 33 million - has remained virtually unchanged for the last two years, United Nations experts said Tuesday.
Reduced skin infections in Northern Australian Aboriginal children
Nov 24, 2009 |
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A community-based program aimed at reducing the burden of skin disease across remote communities in Australia's Northern Territory has been successful according to a study published November 24 in the open-access journal ...
UNAIDS: Sex main cause for HIV spreading in China
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The virus that causes AIDS is now spreading fastest in China through heterosexual sex, a trend demanding new strategies to stave off a rebound in the epidemic after years of progress in containing ...
Etiologic factors of gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma among men in Taiwan
Nov 25, 2009 |
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The gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma (GCA) is a very rare disease. In recent decades, however, the incidence of the GCA has increased dramatically in many Western countries. An increasing trend in GCA is also observed in municipal ...
