Infectious Disease Terms

A type of immune cell that has granules (small particles) with enzymes that are released during infections, allergic reactions, and asthma.

Granulocytes are white blood cells containing microscopic granules of enzymes, including neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils, each specialized for a different immune role.

A vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer caused by human papillomaviruses (HPV) types 16 and 18.

Bacteria and other organisms that live inside the intestines.

Bacteria and other organisms that live inside the intestines.

A type of bacterium that causes inflammation and ulcers in the stomach or small intestine.

The combination approach that turned HIV infection from a fatal illness into a manageable long-term condition.

A type of bacterium that causes inflammation and ulcers in the stomach or small intestine.

A liver virus whose outcome turns less on the virus itself than on the age of the person it first infects.

Hepatitis C virus is a bloodborne virus that infects the liver, often persisting for years and gradually causing scarring if left untreated.

A virus too incomplete to infect anyone by itself, dependent on hepatitis B to supply the coat it cannot build.

First noticed as a puzzling new marker in liver cells of people with hepatitis B, later shown to be a separate virus.

A liver virus carried by contaminated water and by undercooked meat, usually brief but dangerous in late pregnancy.

A virus that may be found in patients with hepatitis (inflammation of the liver).

A herpesvirus is any member of a large family of viruses that establish lifelong latent infection in the body after initial exposure.

A type of virus that causes herpes infections and has DNA as its genetic material.

A virus that disables the very cells sent to fight it, so the damage appears as other infections rather than its own illness.

A substance produced by certain white blood cells in reaction to contact with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Welts that move: individual patches fade within a day while new ones rise elsewhere, which is what separates them from most other rashes.