Citizendia
Your Ad Here

For other uses, see Infection (disambiguation).

An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. Colonisation (also known as Colonization) occurs whenever any one or more species populates a new area In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources to multiply (usually at the expense of the host). In Biology, a host is an organism that harbors a Virus or Parasite, or a mutual or Commensal Symbiont, typically providing nourishment 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. A pathogen (from Greek πάθος pathos "suffering passion" and γἰγνομαι (γεν- gignomai (gen- "I give birth to" infectious A chronic wound is a Wound that does not heal in an orderly set of stages and in a predictable amount of time the way most wounds do wounds that do not heal within three months Please do not add warnings to this page about the pictures Wikipedia is not censored for taste and has a guideline preventing such warnings - WikipediaNo disclaimers in articles Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific The host's response to infection is inflammation. Inflammation ( Latin, inflamatio, to set on fire is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli such as Pathogens Colloquially, a pathogen is usually considered a microscopic organism though the definition is broader, including feces, parasites, fungi, viruses, prions, and viroids. A microorganism (also spelled micro organism or micro-organism and also called a microbe) is an Organism that is Microscopic (usually Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences) is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the Anus Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. A fungus (ˈfʌŋgəs is a eukaryotic Organism that is a member of the kingdom Fungi (ˈfʌndʒaɪ A virus (from the Latin virus meaning Toxin or Poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable A prion (ˈpriːɒn is thought to be an infectious agent that according to current scientific consensus is comprised entirely of a propagated, mis-folded Viroids are Plant Pathogens that consist of a short stretch (a few hundred nucleobases) of highly complementary circular single-stranded A symbiosis between parasite and host, whereby the relationship is beneficial for the former but detrimental to the latter, is characterised as parasitism. This article is about the biological phenomenon for other uses see Symbiosis (disambiguation The term symbiosis (from the Greek Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. The branch of medicine that focuses on infections and pathogens is infectious disease. Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic

A secondary infection is an infection that occurs during or following treatment of another already existing primary infection.

Contents

Colonization

Wound colonization refers to nonreplicating microorganisms within the wound, while in infected wounds replicating organisms exist and tissue is injured. In Medicine, a wound is a type of Injury in which the Skin is torn cut or punctured (an open wound or where blunt force trauma All multicellular organisms are colonized to some degree by extrinsic organisms, and the vast majority of these exist in either a mutualistic or commensal relationship with the host. Multicellular organisms are Organisms consisting of more than one cell, and having Differentiated cells that perform specialized functions Mutualism is a Biological interaction between individuals of two different Species, where both individuals derive a fitness benefit for example increased In Ecology, commensalism is a kind of symbiotic relationship between two organisms where one benefits and the other is not significantly harmed or helped (like a bird An example of the former would be the anaerobic bacteria species which colonize the mammalian colon, and an example of the latter would be the various species of staphylococcus which exist on human skin. An anaerobic organism is any Organism that does not require Oxygen for growth and may even die in its presence Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands The colon is a storage tube for solid wastes The main function of the colon appears to be extraction of Water and salts from Feces. Staphylococcus (in Greek σταφυλη staphyle means bunch of grapes and κοκκος coccos means granule is a genus of Gram-positive The skin is the outer covering of living tissue of an animal (or plant Neither of these colonizations would be considered infections. The difference between an infection and a colonization is often only a matter of circumstance. Organisms which are non-pathogenic can become pathogenic under the right conditions, and even the most virulent organism requires certain circumstances to cause a compromising infection. Virulence (also called pestiferousness) refers to the degree of Pathogenicity of a Microbe, or in other words the relative ability of a Microbe Some colonizing bacteria, such as Corynebacteria sp. Corynebacterium is a Genus of Gram-positive,aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, non- Motile, non-sporulated rod-shaped Actinobacteria and viridans streptococci, prevent the adhesion and colonization of pathogenic bacteria and thus have a symbiotic relationship with the host, preventing infection and speeding wound healing. Streptococcus viridans is a pseudo-taxonomic term for a large group of generally non-pathogenic Commensal streptococcal bacteria Wound healing, or wound repair, is the body's natural process of regenerating dermal and epidermal tissue.

The variables involved in the outcome of a host becoming inoculated by a pathogen and the ultimate outcome include:

As an example, the staphylococcus species present on skin remain harmless on the skin, but, when present in a normally sterile space, such as in the capsule of a joint or the peritoneum, will multiply without resistance and create a huge burden on the host. Virulence (also called pestiferousness) refers to the degree of Pathogenicity of a Microbe, or in other words the relative ability of a Microbe An immune system is a collection of mechanisms within an Organism that protects against Disease by identifying and killing Pathogens and Tumor Staphylococcus (in Greek σταφυλη staphyle means bunch of grapes and κοκκος coccos means granule is a genus of Gram-positive Aseptic technique refers to a procedure that is performed under sterile conditions A joint is the location at which two or more Bones make contact In higher Vertebrates the peritoneum is the Serous membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity &mdash it covers most of the intra-abdominal

Occult infection

An occult infection is medical terminology for a "hidden" infection, that is, one which presents no symptoms. Dr. Fran Giampietro discovered this type, and coined the term "occult infection" in the late 1930s.

Bacterial or viral

Bacterial and viral infections can both cause similar symptoms such as malaise, fever, and chills. Malaise is a feeling of general discomfort or uneasiness an "out of sorts" feeling often the first indication of an infection or other disease Fever (also known as pyrexia, from the Greek pyretos meaning fire or a febrile response, from the Latin word Febris It can be difficult, even for a doctor to distinguish which is the cause of a specific infection. [1] It's important to distinguish, because viral infections cannot be cured by antibiotics. In modern usage an antibiotic is a Chemotherapeutic agent with activity against Microorganisms such as Bacteria, fungi or Protozoa

Comparison of viral and bacterial infection
Characteristic Viral Bacterial
Typical symptoms In general, viral infections are systemic. This means they involve many different parts of the body or more than one body system at the same time; i. e. a runny nose, sinus congestion, cough, fever, body aches etc. They can be local at times as in viral conjunctivitis or "pink eye" and herpes. Only a few viral infections are painful, like herpes. The pain of viral infections is often described as itchy or burning. ,[1] The classic symptoms of a bacterial infection are localized Redness, Heat, Swelling and Pain. In ancient Rome the terms were; Rubor, Calor, Turgor, and Dolor. One of the hallmarks of a bacterial infection is local pain, pain that is in a specific part of the body. For example,if you get cut and the cut gets infected with a bacterium, it will be painful right where the infection is. If you have a sore throat and the infection is bacterial, one side of the throat is often more sore than the other. An ear infection is usually bacterial if one ear hurts and the other doesn't. An infection that produces pus is always bacterial. [1]
Cause Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic bacteria

Identification

Scientists at Sheffield University have identified a way of using light to rapidly detect the presence of bacteria in a wound. Pathogenic bacteria are Bacteria that cause Infectious diseases. The University of Sheffield is a research University, located in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have In Medicine, a wound is a type of Injury in which the Skin is torn cut or punctured (an open wound or where blunt force trauma They are developing a portable kit in which specially designed molecules emit a light signal when bound to bacteria. Current laboratory-based detection of bacteria can take hours or even days. [2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c [http://www.antibiotics-info.org/bact02.asp Bacterial vs. Antiseptics (from Greek αντί - anti, '"against" + σηπτικός - septikos, "putrefactive" are antimicrobial Human Infectious diseases grouped by causative agent and alphabetically arranged An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus (ˌstæfɨləˈkɒkəs ˈɔriəs literally "Golden Cluster Seed" and also known as golden staph) is the most common cause of Ubi pus ibi evacua is a Latin Aphorism or Adage, often cited in Medicine, that literally means "where there is pus there Pus is a whitish-yellow yellow or yellow-brown substance produced during Inflammatory responses of the body that can be found in regions of Pyogenic bacterial In Medicine, transmission is the passing of a Disease from an infected individual or group to a previously uninfected individual or group Viral Infections - Do You Know the Difference?] National Information Program on Antibiotics
  2. ^ Light to detect wound infection (web). UK scientists have identified a way of using light to rapidly detect the presence of bacteria. . BBC News (11 March 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-13. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life

Dictionary

infection

-noun

  1. (pathology) The act or process of infecting.
  2. An uncontrolled growth of harmful microorganisms in a host.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic