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Opportunistic Infection
An opportunistic infection is an infection that occurs most commonly in individuals with an immunodeficiency disorder and acts more severe on those with a weakened immune system. These types of infections are considered serious and can be caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Under normal conditions, such as in humans with uncompromised immune systems, an opportunistic infection would be less likely to cause significant harm and would typically result in a mild infection or no effect at all. These opportunistic infections can stem from a variety of sources, such as a weakened immune system (caused by human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), when being treated with immunosuppressive drugs (as in cancer treatment), when a microbiome is altered (such as a disruption in gut microbiota), or when integumentary barriers are breached (as in penetrating trauma). Opportunistic infections can contribute to antimic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chest Radiograph
A chest radiograph, chest X-ray (CXR), or chest film is a projection radiograph of the chest used to diagnose conditions affecting the chest, its contents, and nearby structures. Chest radiographs are the most common film taken in medicine. Like all methods of radiography, chest radiography employs ionizing radiation in the form of X-rays to generate images of the chest. The mean radiation dose to an adult from a chest radiograph is around 0.02 mSv (2 mrem) for a front view (PA, or posteroanterior) and 0.08 mSv (8 mrem) for a side view (LL, or latero-lateral). Together, this corresponds to a background radiation equivalent time of about 10 days. Medical uses Conditions commonly identified by chest radiography * Pneumonia * Pneumothorax * Interstitial lung disease * Heart failure * Bone fracture * Hiatal hernia * Pulmonary tuberculosis Chest radiographs are used to diagnose many conditions involving the chest wall, including its bones, and also structures contained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hospital-acquired Infection
A hospital-acquired infection, also known as a nosocomial infection (from the Greek , meaning "hospital"), is an infection that is acquired in a hospital or other health care, healthcare facility. To emphasize both hospital and nonhospital settings, it is sometimes instead called a healthcare-associated infection. Such an infection can be acquired in a hospital, nursing home care, nursing home, physical medicine and rehabilitation, rehabilitation facility, outpatient clinic, diagnostic laboratory or other clinical settings. A number of dynamic processes can bring contamination into operating rooms and other areas within nosocomial settings. Infection is spread to the susceptible patient in the clinical setting by various means. Healthcare staff also spread infection, in addition to contaminated equipment, bed linens, or air droplets. The infection can originate from the outside environment, another infected patient, staff that may be infected, or in some cases, the source of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common Bacterial capsule, encapsulated, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-negative, Aerobic organism, aerobic–facultative anaerobe, facultatively anaerobic, Bacillus (shape), rod-shaped bacteria, bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aeruginosa'' is a multiple drug resistance, multidrug resistant pathogen recognized for its ubiquity, its Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsically advanced antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and its association with serious illnesses – hospital-acquired infections such as ventilator-associated pneumonia and various sepsis syndromes. ''P. aeruginosa'' is able to selectively inhibit various antibiotics from penetrating its outer membrane'' ''– and has high resistance to several antibiotics. According to the World Health Organization ''P. aeruginosa'' poses one of the greatest threats to humans in terms of an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as inactive or latent tuberculosis. A small proportion of latent infections progress to active disease that, if left untreated, can be fatal. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with hemoptysis, blood-containing sputum, mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms. Tuberculosis is Human-to-human transmission, spread from one person to the next Airborne disease, through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze. People with latent TB do not spread the disease. A latent infection is more likely to become active in those with weakened I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (M. tb), also known as Koch's bacillus, is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, ''M. tuberculosis'' has an unusual, waxy coating on its cell surface primarily due to the presence of mycolic acid. This coating makes the cells impervious to Gram staining, and as a result, ''M. tuberculosis'' can appear weakly Gram-positive. Acid-fastness, Acid-fast stains such as Ziehl–Neelsen stain, Ziehl–Neelsen, or Fluorescence, fluorescent stains such as Auramine O, auramine are used instead to identify ''M. tuberculosis'' with a microscope. The physiology of ''M. tuberculosis'' is highly aerobic organism, aerobic and requires high levels of oxygen. Primarily a pathogen of the mammalian respiratory system, it infects the lungs. The most frequently used diagnostic methods for tuberculosis are the Mantoux test, tuberculin skin test, Acid-Fast Stain, aci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mycobacterium Avium-intracellulare Infection
''Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare'' infection (MAI) is an atypical mycobacterial infection, i.e. one with nontuberculous mycobacteria or NTM, caused by ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex (MAC), which is made of two ''Mycobacterium'' species, ''M. avium'' and ''M. intracellulare''. This infection causes respiratory illness in birds, pigs, and humans, especially in immunocompromised people. In the later stages of AIDS, it can be very severe. It usually first presents as a persistent cough. It is typically treated with a series of three antibiotics for a period of at least six months. ''M. avium'', ''M. intracellulare'', and ''M. chimaera'' are each saprotrophic organisms present in soil and water; entry into hosts is usually via the gastrointestinal tract, but also can be via the lungs. MAC infections can cause fevers, diarrhea, malabsorption, as well as loss of appetite and weight loss, and can disseminate to the bone marrow. MAI is typically resistant to standard mycobacteri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coinfection
Coinfection is the simultaneous infection of a host by multiple pathogen species. In virology, coinfection includes simultaneous infection of a single cell by two or more virus particles. An example is the coinfection of liver cells with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis D virus, which can arise incrementally by initial infection followed by superinfection. Global prevalence or incidence of coinfection among humans is unknown, but it is thought to be commonplace, sometimes more common than single infection. Coinfection with helminths affects around 800 million people worldwide. Coinfection is of particular human health importance because pathogen species can interact within the host. The net effect of coinfection on human health is thought to be negative. Interactions can have either positive or negative effects on other parasites. Under positive parasite interactions, disease transmission and progression are enhanced and this is also known as syndemism. Negative parasite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mycobacterium Avium Complex
''Mycobacterium avium ''complex is a group of mycobacteria comprising ''Mycobacterium intracellulare'' and ''Mycobacterium avium'' that are commonly grouped because they infect humans together; this group, in turn, is part of the group of nontuberculous mycobacteria. These bacteria cause Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection, ''Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare'' infections or ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex infections in humans. These bacteria are common and are found in fresh and salt water, in household dust and in soil. MAC bacteria usually cause infection in those who are immunocompromised or those with severe lung disease. Description In the Runyon classification, both bacteria are nonchromogens. They can be differentiated from ''M. tuberculosis'' and each other by commercially available DNA probes. They are characterized as Gram-positive, nonmotile, acid-fast, short to long rods. Colony characteristics * Usually, colonies are smooth, rarely rough, and not pigm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Respiratory Tract Infection
Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infectious diseases involving the lower or upper respiratory tract. An infection of this type usually is further classified as an upper respiratory tract infection (URI or URTI) or a lower respiratory tract infection (LRI or LRTI). Lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, tend to be far more severe than upper respiratory infections, such as the common cold. Types Upper respiratory tract infection The upper respiratory tract is considered the airway above the glottis or vocal cords; sometimes, it is taken as the tract above the cricoid cartilage. This part of the tract includes the nose, sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. Typical infections of the upper respiratory tract include tonsillitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, sinusitis, otitis media, certain influenza types, and the common cold. Symptoms of URIs can include cough, sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, headache, low-grade fever, facial pressure, and sneezing. Lower respira ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legionnaires' Disease
Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of ''Legionella'' bacteria, quite often ''Legionella pneumophila''. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, myalgia, muscle pains, and headaches. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. This often begins 2–10 days after exposure. A legionellosis is any disease caused by ''Legionella'', including Legionnaires' disease (a pneumonia) and Pontiac fever (a related upper respiratory tract infection), but Legionnaires' disease is the most common, so mentions of legionellosis often refer to Legionnaires' disease. The bacterium is found naturally in fresh water. It can contaminate hot water tanks, hot tubs, and cooling towers of large air conditioners. It is usually spread by breathing in mist that contains the bacteria. It can also occur when contaminated water is Pulmonary aspiration, aspirated. It typically does not spread directly between people, and most people who are ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legionella Pneumophila
''Legionella pneumophila'', the primary causative agent for Legionnaires' disease, Legionnaire's disease, is an Aerobic organism, aerobic, pleomorphic, Flagellum, flagellated, non-spore-forming, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-negative bacterium. ''L. pneumophila'' is a intracellular parasite that preferentially infects soil amoebae and freshwater protozoa for replication. Due to ''L. pneumophila’s'' ability to thrive in water, it can grow in water filtration systems, leading to faucets, showers, and other fixtures. Aerosolized water droplets containing ''L. pneumophila'' originating from these fixtures may be inhaled by humans. Upon entry to the human respiratory tract, ''L. pneumophila'' is able to infect and reproduce within human Alveolar macrophage, alveolar macrophages. This causes the onset of Legionnaires' disease, also known as legionellosis. Infected humans may display symptoms such as fever, delirium, diarrhea, and decreased liver and kidney function. ''L. pneumophila' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Klebsiella Pneumoniae
''Klebsiella pneumoniae'' is a Gram-negative, non-motile, encapsulated, lactose- fermenting, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium. It appears as a mucoid lactose fermenter on MacConkey agar. Although found in the normal flora of the mouth, skin, and intestines, it can cause destructive changes to human and animal lungs if aspirated, specifically to the alveoli, resulting in bloody, brownish or yellow colored jelly-like sputum. In the clinical setting, it is the most significant member of the genus ''Klebsiella'' of the Enterobacteriaceae. ''K. oxytoca'' and ''K. rhinoscleromatis'' have also been demonstrated in human clinical specimens. In recent years, ''Klebsiella'' species have become important pathogens in nosocomial infections. It naturally occurs in the soil, and about 30% of strains can fix nitrogen in anaerobic conditions. As a free-living diazotroph, its nitrogen-fixation system has been much-studied, and is of agricultural interest, as ''K. pneumoniae'' has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
