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Infections
Published in Charles Theisler, Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
An infection is the invasion of body tissues by a pathogenic agent (e.g., virus, fungus, parasite, or foreign bacterium). Infections can be localized or can spread through the blood and lymph to become systemic. They can be asymptomatic, or subclinical, or may have overt signs and symptoms. General local symptoms can be pus, redness, heat, soreness or swelling, foul odor, and fever. Systemic symptoms include fatigue, fever, aches, chills sweats, sore throat, nasal congestion, shortness of breath, stiff neck, urinary discomfort, diarrhea, or vomiting.
An Introduction to Parasitism
Published in Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin, Parasitology, 2023
Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin
Because the medical and veterinary professions are concerned with maintaining health, they tend to use terms such as infectious agent or pathogen to refer to organisms taking up residence in or on a patient’s body. An infectious agent is generally considered to be an organism or suborganismal entity, such as a virus, that is capable of producing an infection or infectious disease. An infection is the entry and development or multiplication of an infectious agent in the body. In some cases, infection results in clinical manifestations, referred to as an infectious disease. A pathogen is an infectious agent capable of causing a state of disease in a host, with disease broadly defined as a pathological condition with symptoms peculiar to it that set it apart from a normal body state. Disease involves an alteration in a normal cell, organ, or organismal activity and is discussed at length in Chapter 5. How does our previous definition of a parasite relate to these commonly used terms, such as infectious agent or pathogen (Figure 1.4)?
Herpes
Published in Vincenzo Berghella, Maternal-Fetal Evidence Based Guidelines, 2022
HSV infection causes intranuclear inclusion bodies and multinucleated giant cells. Overall, HSV-1 causes about 90% of oral infections, and 10% of genital infections, while HSV-2 causes 10% of oral and 90% of genital infections, although among college-age populations, the majority of new cases of genital HSV are caused by HSV-1 [2]. The following are types of infections included.
Economic and clinical impact of a novel, light-based, at-home antiviral treatment on mild-to-moderate COVID-19
Published in Journal of Medical Economics, 2022
Scott Gibson, Rhodri Saunders, Nathan Stasko, Cherrishe-Brown Bickerstaff, John Oakley, Mark Osterman, Rafael Torrejon Torres, Jonathan K. Kish, Bruce A. Feinberg, David Emerson
The proportions of diagnosed COVID-19 infections that were mild (74.2%), moderate (14.19%), and severe (11.57%) were fixed across the model time horizon31, as were the proportions of moderate cases managed at home, severe cases requiring MV, and the probabilities of experiencing infection progression and long COVID-1931,33,36,37. Mean duration of infectious and recovery days and time to infection progression differ by infection severity. The time course of long COVID-19 is fixed. Vaccine efficacy was assumed to be 95% for the prevention of laboratory confirmed infection and 86% for vaccine efficacy against COVID-19-related hospitalization (partially vaccinated individuals were not considered to be vaccinated within the context of the model, nor was any drop in efficacy modeled with reduced protections against disease caused by emerging variants of concern, making estimates more conservative)40,41.
Monoclonal antibody therapies in the management of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Published in Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs, 2022
Enrique Miguez-Rey, Dasom Choi, Seungmin Kim, Sangwook Yoon, Oana Săndulescu
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can cause considerable morbidity and mortality. Upon infection, most individuals exhibit mild symptoms and experience swift recovery. However, outcomes can be poor in some patients, particularly the elderly and those with comorbidities. A US study of hospitalized patients estimated mortality rates greater than 20% in the overall hospitalized population, which increased to greater than 70% among those on mechanical ventilation [2]. In the early stages of COVID-19, disease progression is driven by viral replication and infection and represents an early opportunity to effectively change the course of the disease and prevent the development of severe or critical illness and hospitalization. An additional potential benefit of early treatment is a reduction in transmission by decreasing the time that an individual is infectious [3]. Therefore, there is a need for effective treatment options to cover the spectrum of COVID-19, including early-stage disease, and to counteract the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that might confer treatment resistance [4,5].
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics: access, excess, and awareness in Bangladesh
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2021
Antibiotic resistance is a major public health problem in many countries throughout the world [1]. It causes substantial morbidity and mortality, and socio-economic loss to individuals and societies. Antibiotic resistance is defined as the ability of a specific bacterium to survive in the presence of an antibiotic that was originally effective in treating infections caused by that bacterium or the acquisition of a resistance mechanism against that antibiotic [2]. Past and recent data suggest that a growing proportion of bacteria have become resistant to several antibiotics. Amidst the declining rate of new antibiotic development [3,4], there is growing concern that if the present trend in resistance continues, common bacterial infections will eventually become untreatable with existing antibiotics, and situations could be catastrophic in some settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistance as a major threat to global public health. To respond to this, the World Health Assembly agreed to the global action plan in 2015 and named it ‘One Health’ for resistance containment in an integrated human-animal environment [5].