Infectious Disease Terms
Viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections. Browse definitions and meanings below.
What is an infectious disease?
An infectious disease is an illness caused by an organism that entered the body from outside: a bacterium, virus, fungus, parasite or prion. What sets this group apart is that the cause can move between hosts, which is why the vocabulary includes words for transmission, incubation and containment.
Infection and disease are not the same thing, and the distinction does real work. Infection means the organism has established itself; disease means it is causing harm. A person can carry an organism for years without illness, and remain able to pass it on throughout.
Terms in this topic
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A disease caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
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Inflammation of the prostate gland that begins suddenly and gets worse quickly.
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Its safety rests on a trick of chemistry: the drug stays inert until a viral enzyme switches it on, so uninfected cells ignore it.
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Named for the tonsil like tissue it was first pulled from, this virus family now doubles as a delivery vehicle for engineered genes.
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A treatment used to help the immune system fight diseases, such as cancer and infections with certain viruses.
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An aggressive (fast-growing) type of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma caused by the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1).
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A harmful substance made by certain types of mold (Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus) that is often found on poorly stored grains and nuts.
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A substance that makes particles (such as bacteria or cells) stick together to form a clump or a mass.
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Living with HIV and having AIDS are not the same thing, and with effective treatment most people never reach the second.
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Certain cancer types that are more likely to occur in people who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
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A cancer vaccine made with a form of the canarypox virus that does not cause disease in people.
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A drug used to treat infections caused by the influenza A virus.
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A reserve antibiotic for stubborn gram-negative bacteria, given by injection and watched closely for effects on hearing and kidneys.
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A substance that works against many types of bacteria and includes streptomycin, gentamicin, and neomycin.
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Amphotericin B remains an option for severe fungal infections even though its use requires balancing effectiveness against a recognized risk to the kidneys.
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A family of red-colored chemotherapy drugs, among the most effective available and among the hardest on the heart.
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A substance that kills bacteria or stops them from growing and causing disease.
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Bacteria gain resistance by mutation and by trading genes with one another, which is how a reliable drug stops working.
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Harder to design than an antibiotic, because a fungal cell is built much like a human one and shares most of its machinery.
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An antimicrobial is any substance that kills or stops the growth of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.