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
Why Some Monkeys Don't Get AIDS
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(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 ...
Defects in T cells make West Nile virus more deadly in older adults
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- West Nile virus is more deadly in older adults due to defects in T cells, according to a study conducted by researchers from the UA College of Medicine.
CDC: Swine flu is widespread only in 25 states (Update)
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Swine flu infections continue to wane, just as vaccine is becoming plentiful enough that some communities are allowing everyone to get it, not just those in priority groups.
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. ...
New study measures HIV anti-retroviral regimens' safety and efficacy
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 01, 2009 |
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A study in the New England Journal of Medicine released on World AIDS Day reports that viral failure, the point at which medication can no longer suppress the HIV infection, was twice as likely and happen ...
Study shows antibiotic unsuccessful in preventing preterm labor
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 01, 2009 |
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The antibiotic, called azithromycin, is effective in treating infections such as syphilis, Chlamydia and Ureaplasma urealyticum - a bacterial infection thought to play a significant role in causing preterm labour. Recent studi ...
CDC: Swine flu less widespread, down to 32 states
Nov 30, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A new government report says swine flu infections seem to be dropping, but the number of children who died with the illness rose by about 30.
A reductionist approach to HIV research
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 30, 2009 |
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A major obstacle to HIV research is the virus's exquisite specialisation for its human host - meaning that scientists' traditional tools, like the humble lab mouse, can deliver only limited information. Now, a team of researchers ...
New guidelines for treating complicated skin and soft tissue infections
Dec 02, 2009 |
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New evidence-based recommendations developed by the Surgical Infection Society to guide physicians in the diagnosis and management of complicated skin and soft tissue infections have been published in Surgical Infections.
Study finds that infections are common in ICUs worldwide
Dec 01, 2009 |
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An international study that examined the extent of infections in nearly 1,300 intensive care units (ICUs) in 75 countries found that about 50 percent of the patients were considered infected, with infection associated with ...
Tuberculosis: On the path to prevention
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Why do some people who are exposed to tuberculosis not become infected or develop the disease? Dr. Erwin Schurr and his team at the Research Institute from the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), in collaboration with ...
