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Infectious disease
hideAn infectious disease is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. These pathogens are able to cause disease in animals and/or plants. Infectious pathologies are usually qualified as contagious diseases (also called communicable diseases) due to their potential of transmission from one person or species to another. Transmission of an infectious disease may occur through one or more of diverse pathways including physical contact with infected individuals. These infecting agents may also be transmitted through liquids, food, body fluids, contaminated objects, airborne inhalation, or through vector-borne spread.
The term infectivity describes the ability of an organism to enter, survive and multiply in the host, while the infectiousness of a disease indicates the comparative ease with which the disease is transmitted to other hosts. An infection however, is not synonymous with an infectious disease, as an infection may not cause important clinical symptoms or impair host function.
For more information about Infectious disease, read the full article at
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News tagged with infectious diseases
First adhere, then detach and glide forward
Dec 23, 2009 |
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How do one-celled parasites move from the salivary gland of a mosquito through a person's skin into red blood cells? What molecular mechanisms form the basis for this very important movement of the protozoa? ...
Think again about keeping little ones so squeaky clean
Dec 08, 2009 |
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A new Northwestern University study suggests that American parents should ease up on antibacterial soap and perhaps allow their little ones a romp or two in the mud --- or at least a much better acquaintance with everyday ...
Mutation leads to new and severe form of bacterial disease
Dec 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Everybody gets sick, but how sick you get is in your genes. New research now reveals a mutation on a gene that makes children susceptible to a severe form of mycobacterial disease. The work not only supports ...
Transplant guide highlights daily infection risks from factors like pets and food
Dec 18, 2009 |
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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 ...
Santa should get off his sleigh and walk, says public health doctor
Dec 16, 2009 |
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Santa should share Rudolf's snack of carrots and celery sticks rather than brandy and mince pies and swap his reindeer for a bike or walk, says a public health expert in the Christmas issue published in BMJ today.
Leprosy susceptibility genes reported
Dec 16, 2009 |
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In the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) of leprosy and the largest GWAS on an infectious disease, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and 26 institutes in China identified seven genes that increase ...
Doctors advised to curtail antibiotic dosages
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 11, 2009 |
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It's a common scene: Mom brings aching child with some bug to the doctor's office, expecting the doctor to do, well, something.
Further spread of Rhodesian sleeping sickness in Uganda likely due to livestock movements
Dec 15, 2009 |
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The northwards spread of human Rhodesian sleeping sickness in Uganda is likely due to the movement of infected livestock, according to new findings from an interdisciplinary research group including members from the Centre ...
Cells defend themselves from viruses, bacteria with armor of protein errors
Nov 25, 2009 |
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When cells are confronted with an invading virus or bacteria or exposed to an irritating chemical, they protect themselves by going off their DNA recipe and inserting the wrong amino acid into new proteins to defend them ...
New York autopsies show 2009 H1N1 influenza virus damages entire airway
Dec 07, 2009 |
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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 ...
West Nile virus infection may persist in kidneys years after initial infection
Dec 07, 2009 |
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A new study shows that people who have been infected with West Nile virus may have persistent virus in their kidneys for years after initial infection, potentially leading to kidney problems. The research, which appears in ...
Species down, disease up: Study shows biodiversity loss drives human infections
Dec 03, 2009 |
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The extinction of plant and animal species can be likened to emptying a museum of its collection, or dumping a cabinet full of potential medicines into the trash, or replacing every local cuisine with McDonald's burgers.
'Outbreaks Near Me' app now available for Android mobile phones
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- "Outbreaks Near Me," an up-to-the-minute disease-tracking system released as an iPhone application in September, is now available for use on Android mobile phones, greatly increasing the number of people ...
Intensive fungicide use may lead to azole resistance in humans
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists from the Netherlands, including Gert Kema of Plant Research International, published an article in the Lancet Infectious Diseases about the relationship between fungic ...
School closure could reduce swine flu transmission by 21 percent
Nov 27, 2009 |
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A survey carried out in eight European countries has shown that closing schools in the event of an infectious disease pandemic could have a significant role in reducing illness transmission. Researchers writing in the open ...
