Materiały źródłowe

• #1 Principles of Infectious Diseases: Transmission, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control

  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7150340/

  Infectious disease control and prevention relies on a thorough understanding of the factors determining transmission. […] An infectious disease can be defined as an illness due to a pathogen or its toxic product, which arises through transmission from an infected person, an infected animal, or a contaminated inanimate object to a susceptible host. […] Infectious disease control and prevention relies on a thorough understanding of the factors determining transmission. […] A classic model of infectious disease causation, the epidemiological triad, envisions that an infectious disease results from a combination of agent (pathogen), host, and environmental factors. […] Infectious agents may be living parasites, fungi, or bacteria, or nonliving viruses or prions. […] Infectivity is the likelihood that an agent will infect a host, given that the host is exposed to the agent. Pathogenicity refers to the ability of an agent to cause disease, given infection, and virulence is the likelihood of causing severe disease among those with disease.

• #1 Infectious diseases – Symptoms & causes – Mayo Clinic

  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/infectious-diseases/symptoms-causes/syc-20351173

  Infectious diseases can be caused by: […] Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are examples of organisms that can cause illness. […] These one-cell organisms are responsible for illnesses such as strep throat, urinary tract infections and tuberculosis. […] These microscopic germs are even smaller than bacteria. They cause many diseases, including the common cold, COVID-19 and HIV. […] These cause many skin diseases, such as ringworm and athlete’s foot. Other types of fungi can infect the lungs, eyes, liver or brain. […] The disease malaria is caused by a tiny parasite that is spread by a mosquito bite. Other parasites may be spread to people from animal feces.

• #1 Introduction to Infectious Diseases | BCM

  https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/introduction-to-infectious-diseases

  Infectious diseases are disorders that are caused by organisms, usually microscopic in size, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that are passed, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. […] The majority of agents that cause disease in humans are viruses or bacteria, although the parasite that causes malaria is a notable example of a protozoan. […] Infectious diseases can be caused by several different classes of pathogenic organisms (commonly called germs). […] Examples of diseases caused by viruses are COVID-19, influenza, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, diarrheal diseases, hepatitis, and West Nile. Diseases caused by bacteria include anthrax, tuberculosis, salmonella, and respiratory and diarrheal diseases. […] A WHO report released in 2007 warns that infectious diseases are spreading more rapidly than ever before and that new infectious diseases are being discovered at a higher rate than at any time in history.

• #1 Infection – Wikipedia

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infection

  Microorganisms can cause tissue damage by releasing a variety of toxins or destructive enzymes. […] Not all infectious agents cause disease in all hosts. […] Persistent infections occur because the body is unable to clear the organism after the initial infection. […] The relationship between virulence versus transmissibility is complex; with studies have shown that there were no clear relationship between the two. […] Diagnosis of infectious disease sometimes involves identifying an infectious agent either directly or indirectly. […] Diagnosis of infectious disease is nearly always initiated by medical history and physical examination. […] The benefits of identification, however, are often greatly outweighed by the cost, as often there is no specific treatment, the cause is obvious, or the outcome of an infection is likely to be benign.

• #1 Infection: Types, causes, and differences

  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196271

  An infection occurs when a microorganism such as bacteria, fungi, or a virus enters a persons body and causes harm. […] The cause of an infection is whichever type of organism has entered the body. A specific virus, for example, will be the cause of a viral infection. […] The effects of an infection, such as swelling or a runny nose, occur due to the immune systems attempt to get rid of the invading organism. […] A wound fills with pus, for example, when white blood cells rush to the site of an injury to combat foreign bacteria.

• #1 Experts warn climate change will fuel spread of infectious diseases

  https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/experts-warn-climate-change-will-fuel-spread-of-infectious-diseases-/2024/03

  Zoonotic diseases, such as plague and hantavirus (carried by rodents), are also showing changes in incidence and location. […] The study also pointed to the emergence of new fungal infections, such as Candida auris (C. auris), and changes in the location of some fungal pathogens. […] Changes in rain patterns and coastal water temperature can also affect the spread of waterborne diseases, such as E. coli and Vibrio. […] The team called for stronger measures for infectious disease surveillance and urged medical educators to train clinicians to anticipate the changes in infectious disease patterns. […] Clinicians see first-hand the impact of climate change on peoples health. As such, they have a role in advocating for policies that can slow climate change.

• #1 Infectious Diseases > Fact Sheets > Yale Medicine

  https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/topics/infectious-diseases

  Diseases caused by the introduction of infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi into the body. […] There are all sorts of ways to get an infectious disease from people and animals, to eating contaminated foods, to environmental exposure. […] COVID-19 is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2, the 2019 novel coronavirus. […] A type of bacteria, Clostridium difficile (C. diff), causes one of the most common health care-associated infections in the United States. […] Parasitic diseases are infections caused by organisms that are often microscopic. […] Sexually transmitted infections are caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can spread through sexual contact. […] Diseases that are transmitted to humans through the bite of ticks infected with several types of bacteria and viruses.

• #1 Infectious Diseases – Causes, Symptoms & Treatment | Shalby Hospitals

  https://www.shalby.org/infectious-diseases-causes-symptoms-treatment/

  Infectious diseases are the health disorders that are caused by infection causing organisms that use human body for surviving, reproducing and colonizing. These organisms are known as pathogens. The commonly known pathogens include virus, bacteria, fungi or parasites. […] Some of the infectious diseases are very mild and cause no harm. However, certain infectious diseases are very severe and can even be life-threatening. […] The most commonly known pathogens that cause infections include bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, prions, and parasites. These pathogens differ from one another in terms of shape, size, genetic content and function. […] If you have encountered an infectious disease, the treatment type will depend on the pathogen type that has caused the disease. […] Compared to viruses, bacteria happen to be quite complex, single-celled microorganisms.

• #1 Infectious Disease: Types, Causes & Treatments

  https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17724-infectious-diseases

  Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by harmful agents (pathogens) that get into your body. The most common causes are viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Infectious diseases usually spread from person to person, through contaminated food or water and through bug bites. Some infectious diseases are minor and some are very serious. […] Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by harmful organisms (pathogens) that get into your body from the outside. Pathogens that cause infectious diseases are viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites and, rarely, prions. […] Infectious diseases are caused by harmful organisms that get into your body from the outside, like viruses and bacteria. […] Infectious diseases can be viral, bacterial, parasitic or fungal infections. […] Infectious diseases are caused by a variety of agents that invade your body from the outside. These include: Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi, Parasites, Prions. […] You may develop symptoms when your cells are damaged or destroyed by the invading organism and as your immune system responds to the infection.

• #1 Principles of Infectious Diseases: Transmission, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control

  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7150340/

  The outcome of exposure to an infectious agent depends, in part, upon multiple host factors that determine individual susceptibility to infection and disease. […] Environmental determinants of vulnerability to infectious diseases include physical, social, behavioral, cultural, political, and economic factors. […] The cause of any infectious disease is the infectious agent. […] Infectious agents can exist in more than one type of reservoir. […] Zoonosis is the term used to describe any infectious disease that is naturally transmissible from animals to humans. […] The chain starts with the infectious agent residing and multiplying in some natural reservoir; a human, animal, or part of the environment such as soil or water that supports the existence of the infectious agent in nature. […] The infectious agent leaves the reservoir via a portal of exit and, using some mode of transmission, moves to reach a portal of entry into a susceptible host.

• #1 Communicable Diseases Module: 1. Basic Concepts in the Transmission of Communicable Diseases: View as single page | OLCreate

  https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=84&printable=1

  The natural history of a communicable disease refers to the sequence of events that happen one after another, over a period of time, in a person who is not receiving treatment. […] The natural history of an untreated communicable disease has four stages: stage of exposure, stage of infection, stage of infectious disease, and stage of outcome.

• #1 Characteristics of Infectious Disease | Microbiology

  https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-mcc-microbiology/chapter/characteristics-of-infectious-disease/

  In contrast to communicable infectious diseases, a noncommunicableinfectious disease is not spread from one person to another. […] An acute disease is short in duration, whereas achronic disease lasts for months or years. […] The periods of disease include the incubation period, the prodromal period, the period of illness, the period of decline, and the period of convalescence. These periods are marked by changes in the number of infectious agents and the severity of signs and symptoms.

• #1 Characteristics of Infectious Disease | Microbiology

  https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-microbiology/chapter/characteristics-of-infectious-disease/

  Diseases that are contracted as the result of a medical procedure are known as iatrogenic diseases. […] Diseases acquired in hospital settings are known as nosocomial diseases. […] Certain infectious diseases are not transmitted between humans directly but can be transmitted from animals to humans. Such a disease is called zoonotic disease (or zoonosis). […] In contrast to communicable infectious diseases, a noncommunicable infectious disease is not spread from one person to another. […] The periods of disease include the incubation period, the prodromal period, the period of illness, the period of decline, and the period of convalescence. […] Infectious diseases can be contagious during all five of the periods of disease.

• #1 Disease Transmission: Direct Contact vs. Indirect Contact

  https://www.healthline.com/health/disease-transmission

  Infectious diseases are transmitted from person to person by direct or indirect contact. […] Certain types of viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi can all cause infectious diseases. […] Infectious diseases are often spread through direct contact. […] Infectious diseases are commonly transmitted through direct person-to-person contact. […] Transmission occurs when a person with an infectious disease touches or exchanges body fluids with someone else. […] Some infectious diseases can be transmitted from an animal to a person. […] Zoonosis occurs when diseases are transferred from animals to people. […] Infectious diseases are caused by types of bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi around us. […] It’s important to understand how these diseases are transmitted.

• #1 What are Infectious Diseases: Symptoms, Causes, and Types | Max hospital

  https://www.maxhealthcare.in/blogs/what-are-infectious-diseases

  Infectious diseases are illnesses triggered by a range of pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, protozoans, fungi, and parasites. These ailments can spread through animals, humans, insects, or other carriers. […] The agents of infection are ubiquitous, varying in form and structure. They can be classified according to certain shared traits and include single-celled organisms like fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Diseases can also be caused by more complex, multicellular organisms, like worms. […] Most infectious diseases are easily contracted through contact with an infected individual or animal. The spread of these diseases can occur through various means: […] Infectious diseases are often transmitted through the direct transfer of bacteria, viruses, or other germs from one person to another. This transmission can occur when an infected individual touches, kisses, coughs, or sneezes on someone who is not infected. Additionally, these germs can be exchanged through body fluids during sexual contact. Importantly, an individual who transmits the germ might not show any symptoms but could simply be a carrier.

• #1 What are Infectious Diseases: Symptoms, Causes, and Types | Max hospital

  https://www.maxhealthcare.in/blogs/what-are-infectious-diseases

  Infections can also be passed from animals to humans. This can happen through bites or scratches from an infected animal, including pets, and can sometimes be fatal. Handling animal waste poses risks too; for instance, toxoplasmosis can be contracted by cleaning a cat’s litter box. […] Pregnant women can transmit infectious diseases to their unborn babies. Some germs can cross the placenta or be passed through breast milk. Additionally, germs present in the vagina can be transmitted to the baby during childbirth. […] Organisms causing disease can be transmitted through indirect contact. Many germs survive on inanimate objects like tabletops, doorknobs, or faucet handles. For example, touching a doorknob handled by someone with the flu or a cold and then touching one’s face without washing hands can lead to infection.

• #1 Airborne and Direct Contact Diseases – Disease Surveillance Epidemiology Program – MeCDC; DHHS Maine

  https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/airborne/index.shtml

  Airborne diseases are caused by pathogenic microbes small enough to be discharged from an infected person via coughing, sneezing, laughing and close personal contact or aerosolization of the microbe. The discharged microbes remain suspended in the air on dust particles, respiratory and water droplets. Illness is caused when the microbe is inhaled or contacts mucus membranes or when secretions remaining on a surface are touched. […] Contact Diseases are transmitted when an infected person has direct bodily contact with an uninfected person and the microbe is passed from one to the other. Contact diseases can also be spread by indirect contact with an infected persons environment or personal items. The presence of wound drainage or other discharges from the body suggest an increased potential for risk of transmission and environmental contamination. Precautions that create a barrier and procedures that decrease or eliminate the microbe in the environment or on personal belongings, form the basis of interrupting transmission of direct contact diseases.

• #1 Ways infectious diseases spread | SA Health

  https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/conditions/infectious+diseases/ways+infectious+diseases+spread

  Some infections are spread when microscopic amounts of faeces (poo) from an infected person with symptoms or an infected person without symptoms (a carrier) are taken in by another person by mouth. […] Some infections are spread directly when skin or mucous membrane (the thin moist lining of many parts of the body such as the nose, mouth, throat and genitals) comes into contact with the skin or mucous membrane of another person. […] Some infections are spread when blood or other body fluids (for example for example, urine, saliva, breastmilk, semen and vaginal secretions) from an infected person comes into contact with: […] These infections are most commonly transmitted by sexual contact. […] These diseases result from ingestion of water or a wide variety of foods contaminated with disease-causing germs or their toxins. […] Some infections can be spread through the placenta from a mother to her unborn child or during delivery, or both. […] Some infectious diseases are almost never spread by contact with an infected person.

• #1 Principles of Epidemiology | Lesson 1 – Section 8

  https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section8.html

  Agent originally referred to an infectious microorganism or pathogen: a virus, bacterium, parasite, or other microbe. Generally, the agent must be present for disease to occur; however, presence of that agent alone is not always sufficient to cause disease. A variety of factors influence whether exposure to an organism will result in disease, including the organisms pathogenicity (ability to cause disease) and dose. […] Over time, the concept of agent has been broadened to include chemical and physical causes of disease or injury. […] Host refers to the human who can get the disease. A variety of factors intrinsic to the host, sometimes called risk factors, can influence an individuals exposure, susceptibility, or response to a causative agent. […] Environment refers to extrinsic factors that affect the agent and the opportunity for exposure. Environmental factors include physical factors such as geology and climate, biologic factors such as insects that transmit the agent, and socioeconomic factors such as crowding, sanitation, and the availability of health services.

• #1

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emerging-infections-characteristics-epidemiology-and-global-distribution/emerging-infections-how-and-why-they-arise

  Activities such as sexual contact, drug use or outdoor recreational activities can result in increased exposure to an infectious microbe. […] Some diseases emerge as a direct consequence of technological change. […] The speed and ease with which humans, animals and other goods can be transported around the world has made it much easier to spread both microbes and the vectors or vehicles that can transmit them. […] The spread of existing infections and the emergence of new ones in many areas of the world can be caused by poor sanitary conditions, hygiene and a lack of clean drinking water. […] The human body has many defences against infection. These defences can become weakened through disease, increasing age or other influences making individuals more vulnerable to infection.

• #1 Emerging Infectious Diseases | BCM

  https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/emerging-infectious-diseases

  Emerging infectious diseases are infections that have recently appeared within a population or those whose incidence or geographic range is rapidly increasing or threatens to increase in the near future. Emerging infections can be caused by: […] The World Health Organization warned in its 2007 report that infectious diseases are emerging at a rate that has not been seen before. […] There are many factors involved in the emergence of new infectious diseases or the re-emergence of old infectious diseases. […] For an emerging disease to become established at least two events have to occur (1) the infectious agent has to be introduced into a vulnerable population and (2) the agent has to have the ability to spread readily from person-to-person and cause disease. […] Many emerging diseases arise when infectious agents in animals are passed to humans (referred to as zoonoses).

• #1 Climate Change and Infectious Diseases | NETEC

  https://netec.org/2024/03/25/climate-change-and-infectious-diseases/

  The complex interplay between climate change, ecosystems, and human activities can create conditions that favor the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, posing significant challenges to public health. […] Climate change trends such as shifts in seasonal temperature and precipitation patterns, an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and changes in global weather patterns can create conditions conducive to the spread of infectious diseases. Infectious diseases sensitive to climate changes include: […] The rapid expansion and exposure to ticks and tick-borne diseases is fueled by several factors. In addition to the effects of climate change, ecological changes including reforestation, abundant deer populations, the expansion of suburbia into wooded areas and the resulting increased exposure of people to ticks all contribute to the rise in tick-borne diseases in the U.S.

• #1 Infectious Diseases and Climate Change | Washington State Department of Health

  https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/climate-and-health/infectious-diseases

  Climate change is expected to impact the spread of infectious diseases in Washington state. […] Enteric diseases are typically caused by various pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and they are often transmitted through contaminated food or water, or via direct person-to-person contact, and are highly sensitive to changes in climate. […] Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events can influence the incidence and distribution of these diseases. […] Warmer temperatures can enhance the survival and proliferation of foodborne and waterborne pathogens, leading to an increased risk of contamination. […] Changes in precipitation patterns, including more intense rainfall and flooding, can contribute to the spread of foodborne and waterborne diseases by disrupting sanitation systems, contaminating food and water supplies, and affecting produce growing areas.

• #1 Infectious disease in an era of global change | Nature Reviews Microbiology

  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-021-00639-z

  The twenty-first century has witnessed a wave of severe infectious disease outbreaks, not least the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a devastating impact on lives and livelihoods around the globe. […] At the same time, the past few decades have ushered in an unprecedented era of technological, demographic and climatic change: airline flights have doubled since 2000, since 2007 more people live in urban areas than rural areas, population numbers continue to climb and climate change presents an escalating threat to society. […] In this Review, we consider the extent to which these recent global changes have increased the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, even as improved sanitation and access to health care have resulted in considerable progress worldwide.

• #1 OVERVIEW – The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases – NCBI Bookshelf

  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK83680/

  Chronic diseases cause 70 percent of all deaths in the United States. Yet the factors that cause many of these conditions have been poorly understood until recently. Advances in numerous detection and diagnostic techniques have revealed that several chronic illnesses result from infectious agents. For example, the human papillomavirus causes more than 90 percent of cervical cancers. […] Identifying and confirming an infectious cause of a chronic disease is complicated by several factors: […] Eduardo Franco reviewed the evidence that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a cause of cervical cancer. HPV infection precedes lesion development and appears to be necessary for cervical cancer to occur. This is one of the first examples in which an infectious agent has been identified to be necessary for cancer development.

• #1 Summary and Assessment | The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases: Defining the Relationship, Enhancing the Research, and Mitigating the Effects: Workshop Summary | The National Academies Press

  https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/11026/chapter/2

  The belief that infectious agents may cause certain chronic diseases can be traced to the mid-19th century, when cancer was studied as a possible infectious disease. […] In recent years, however, the picture has begun to change. A number of chronic diseases have now been linked, in some cases definitively, to an infectious etiology: peptic ulcer disease with Helicobacter pylori, cervical cancer with several human papillomaviruses, Whipples disease with Tropheryma whipplei, Lyme arthritis and neuroborreliosis with Borrelia burgdorferi, AIDS with the human immunodeficiency virus, liver cancer and cirrhosis with hepatitis B and C viruses, to name a few. […] Indeed, evidence continues to mount implicating microorganisms as etiologic agents of chronic diseases that have substantial morbidity and mortality, including atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and a variety of neurological diseases.

• #1 Infectious Causes of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases and Cancer – Volume 4, Number 3—September 1998 – Emerging Infectious Diseases journal – CDC

  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/4/3/98-0339_article

  Powerful diagnostic technology, plus the realization that organisms of otherwise unimpressive virulence can produce slowly progressive chronic disease with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations and disease outcomes, has resulted in the discovery of new infectious agents and new concepts of infectious diseases. […] The demonstration that final outcome of infection is as much determined by the genetic background of the patient as by the genetic makeup of the infecting agent is indicating that a number of chronic diseases of unknown etiology are caused by one or more infectious agents. […] Recent data suggest a role for one or more infectious agents in the following chronic diseases: chronic lung diseases (including asthma), cardiovascular disease, and cancer. […] The belief that infectious agents are a cause of chronic inflammatory diseases of unknown etiology and of cancer is not new.

• #1 Infectious Causes of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases and Cancer – Volume 4, Number 3—September 1998 – Emerging Infectious Diseases journal – CDC

  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/4/3/98-0339_article

  The pathogenic mechanisms by which infectious agents cause cancer have not been resolved but they appear to be diverse. […] A growing body of research suggests that a number of viruses, bacteria, and parasites cause cancer in humans, thus providing new possibilities for treatment and prevention of cancer. […] In 1997, the World Health Organization estimated that up to 84% of cases of some cancers are attributable to viruses, bacteria, and parasites and that more than 1.5 million (15%) new cases each year could be avoided by preventing the infectious disease associated with them.

• #1 Risk Factors: Infectious Agents – NCI

  https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents

  Certain infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites, can cause cancer or increase the risk that cancer will form. […] HIV does not cause cancer itself, but infection with HIV weakens the immune system and makes the body less able to fight off other infections that cause cancer. […] Infection with high-risk types of HPV cause nearly all cervical cancers. […] Chronic infections with HBV or HCV can cause liver cancer. […] H. pylori is a type of bacterium that can cause noncardia gastric cancer (a type of stomach cancer) and a type of lymphoma in the stomach lining, gastric MALT lymphoma. […] This parasitic flatworm (fluke), which is found in Southeast Asia, can cause cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts in the liver). […] This parasitic flatworm (fluke), which lives in certain types of freshwater snails found in Africa and the Middle East, can cause bladder cancer.

• #1 Infectious Causes of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases and Cancer – Volume 4, Number 3—September 1998 – Emerging Infectious Diseases journal – CDC

  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/4/3/98-0339_article

  Advances in molecular biology and medical devices have revolutionized our ability to detect very low numbers of infectious agents in specimens collected directly from the affected site. […] Increased understanding of the body’s defense mechanisms and the demonstration that final outcome of infection is as much determined by the genetic background of the host as by the genetic makeup of the infecting agent suggest that a number of chronic diseases of unknown etiology may be caused by an infectious agent. […] The intent of this paper is not to provide a comprehensive review of chronic inflammatory diseases of unknown etiology and the agents implicated but rather to utilize several models to discuss available data and to illustrate the difficulty in proving causality in chronic inflammatory diseases.

• #1 Childhood diseases | UNICEF

  https://www.unicef.org/health/childhood-diseases

  Malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, HIV and tuberculosis are preventable and treatable. But they are still killing children in large numbers. […] Major causes of death among children vary by age. Children under 5 are especially vulnerable to infectious diseases like malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, HIV and tuberculosis. […] Despite being entirely preventable and treatable, common infectious diseases are still killing young children in large numbers. Pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria were responsible for approximately 30 per cent of global deaths among children under the age of 5 in 2019. […] Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death among children under 5, killing approximately 700,000 children a year. […] Child deaths caused by pneumonia are strongly linked to undernutrition, lack of safe water and sanitation, indoor air pollution and inadequate access to health care.

• #1

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities/what-infections-are-how-they-are-transmitted-and-those-at-higher-risk-of-infection

  Infections are caused by micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, otherwise known as germs. […] Some germs can cause infections when they get into the wrong place, which can result in symptoms such as fever and sickness. […] The mode of transmission is a term used to describe how germs are spread from person to person. […] Some infections can be spread by direct contact with the infected area to another person’s body, or via contact with a contaminated surface. […] Gastro-intestinal infections can spread from person to person when infected faeces or vomit are transferred to the mouth either directly or from contaminated food, water, or objects such as toys, door handles or toilet flush handles. […] Blood borne viruses are viruses that some people carry in their blood and can be spread from one person to another by contact with infected blood or body fluids.

• #1 Bacterial Infections | Infectious Diseases

  https://health.ucdavis.edu/conditions/bacterial-infections

  Bacterial infections can lead to life-threatening complications. […] Certain bacterial infections are highly contagious. […] There are different types of bacterial infections, each with distinct causes and symptoms. […] Bacteria are living organisms that cause bacterial infections. […] Certain medical conditions make you more prone to bacterial infections. […] A weakened immune system has a harder time killing bad bacteria. […] But infection-causing bacteria can quickly grow out of control. You can develop serious, potentially life-threatening complications.

• #1 Azthena logo with the word Azthena

  https://www.news-medical.net/health/Sex-Differences-in-Infectious-Diseases.aspx

  Disease-causing pathogens encounter different host characteristics age, physiology, nutritional status, and immune response are some basic differences which pathogens confront. […] The interesting fact is that these differences are also observed in their risk of contracting and responding to infectious diseases. […] There are several factors due to which women and men respond differently to infectious diseases. […] Differences in exposure to common pathogens depend largely on cultural, socioeconomic, behavioral, hormonal, and immunological factors. […] Studies show that women mount more robust innate and adaptive immune responses to viral infections than men. […] Sex hormones such as estrogens, progesterone, and androgens account for the differences in susceptibility to disease, disease progression, and treatment response due to the differential regulation of immune responses.

• #1 Infectious Disease Causes and Risk Factors in Developing Countries: Adults | SpringerLink

  https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-74786-2_328-1

  Infectious diseases in adults in developing countries pose significant challenges to healthcare systems and public health. This chapter explores the causes and risk factors associated with these diseases, highlighting the importance of understanding their underlying drivers. Factors such as poverty, limited access to healthcare, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene practices contribute to the burden of infectious diseases. Additionally, social determinants of health, environmental factors, and occupational exposures play significant roles. Preventive strategies, including strengthening healthcare systems, promoting hygiene practices, enhancing surveillance systems, and fostering intersectoral collaboration, are essential for prevention and control. The recommendations provided aim to guide policymakers, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders in implementing effective interventions and addressing the causes of infectious diseases in adults in developing countries.

• #1

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emerging-infections-characteristics-epidemiology-and-global-distribution/emerging-infections-how-and-why-they-arise

  Between 60% and 80% of emerging infections are derived from animal sources. […] Infectious disease emergence involves 2 main steps: An agent is introduced into a new host population. The agent is established and transmitted within the new host population. […] Disease emergence results from interactions between microbes and humans. These can be complex and multi-factorial. […] Microbes continually adapt to the environment in which they live. The changes that result may enable them to evade the human immune system or provide them with a new ability to invade human or animal cells. […] Ecological changes, including those due to agricultural or economic development, are among the most frequently identified factors in disease emergence. […] Climate change can have a direct impact on how diseases are spread; either through effects on microbes and vectors or because we may modify our behaviour in response to climate change.

• #1 Infectious disease as a driver of declines and extinctions | Cambridge Prisms: Extinction | Cambridge Core

  https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-prisms-extinction/article/infectious-disease-as-a-driver-of-declines-and-extinctions/D7B886C5E729C03C8EB5B7D747422AC2

  Chytridiomycosis is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and is a fatal skin disease in amphibians. […] The fungus was first identified as the causative agent of multiple frog declines and extinctions in the Americas and Australia around the turn of the century. […] This pathogen has the capacity to survive off the host in an environmental reservoir within the caves where bats hibernate, meaning that transmission is not strongly dependent on bat population density. […] The ecological community in which a host-pathogen interaction is embedded is critically important in determining whether a pathogen is capable of threatening the extinction of the focal host. […] When hosts are exposed to novel pathogens, with which they have not evolved, effects may be especially severe.

• #1 What are infectious diseases?

  https://www.yourgenome.org/theme/what-are-infectious-diseases/

  Infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. […] Many diseases become difficult to control if the infectious agents evolve resistance to commonly used drugs. […] For example, bacteria can accumulate mutations in their DNA or acquire new genes that allow them to survive contact with antibiotic drugs that would normally kill them. […] Scientists are currently searching for new approaches to treat infectious diseases, focusing on exactly how the pathogens change and drug resistance evolves.

• #1 Emerging Infectious Diseases | BCM

  https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/emerging-infectious-diseases

  Climate change is increasingly becoming a concern as a factor in the emergence of infectious diseases. […] A factor that is especially important in the re-emergence of diseases is antimicrobial resistance – the acquired resistance of pathogens to antimicrobial medications such as antibiotics. […] Another factor that can cause a disease to re-emerge is a decline in vaccine coverage, so that even when a safe and effective vaccine exists, a growing number of people choose not to become vaccinated. […] Influenza virus is infamous for its ability to change its genetic information. […] The case of the coronaviruses SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 (which cause the diseases SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 respectively), represents instances of how viruses can move from animals into humans, acquire the ability to spread from person to person and then, with great speed, reach around the globe as a result of air travel.

• #1 Infectious agents and causes of diseases | Britannica

  https://www.britannica.com/summary/infectious-disease

  Infection, invasion of the body by any of various agents including bacteria, fungi, protozoans, viruses, and worms and its reaction to them or their toxins. […] Despite significant progress in preventing and treating infectious diseases, they remain a major cause of illness and death, particularly in regions of poor sanitation, poor nutrition, and crowding.

• #2 12.2: Characteristics and Steps of Infectious Diseases – Biology LibreTexts

  https://bio.libretexts.org/Courses/Manchester_Community_College_(MCC)/Remix_of_Openstax%3AMicrobiology_by_Parker_Schneegurt_et_al/12%3A_Microbial_Interactions_Flora_Pathogenicity_and_Epidemiology/12.02%3A_How_Pathogens_Cause_Disease

  A disease is any condition in which the normal structure or functions of the body are damaged or impaired. […] Our focus in this chapter will be on infectious diseases, although when diagnosing infectious diseases, it is always important to consider possible noninfectious causes. […] Microorganisms that can cause disease are known as pathogens. […] Infections can lead to disease, which causes signs and symptoms resulting in a deviation from the normal structure or functioning of the host. […] The ability of a microbial agent to cause disease is called pathogenicity, and the degree to which an organism is pathogenic is called virulence. […] Virulence is a continuum. […] Highly virulent pathogens will almost always lead to a disease state when introduced to the body, and some may even cause multi-organ and body system failure in healthy individuals.

• #2 Principles of Epidemiology | Lesson 1 – Section 8

  https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section8.html

  A number of models of disease causation have been proposed. Among the simplest of these is the epidemiologic triad or triangle, the traditional model for infectious disease. The triad consists of an external agent, a susceptible host, and an environment that brings the host and agent together. In this model, disease results from the interaction between the agent and the susceptible host in an environment that supports transmission of the agent from a source to that host. […] Agent, host, and environmental factors interrelate in a variety of complex ways to produce disease. Different diseases require different balances and interactions of these three components. Development of appropriate, practical, and effective public health measures to control or prevent disease usually requires assessment of all three components and their interactions.

• #2 Infectious Disease: Types, Causes & Treatments

  https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17724-infectious-diseases

  Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by harmful agents (pathogens) that get into your body. The most common causes are viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Infectious diseases usually spread from person to person, through contaminated food or water and through bug bites. Some infectious diseases are minor and some are very serious. […] Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by harmful organisms (pathogens) that get into your body from the outside. Pathogens that cause infectious diseases are viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites and, rarely, prions. […] Infectious diseases are caused by harmful organisms that get into your body from the outside, like viruses and bacteria. […] Infectious diseases can be viral, bacterial, parasitic or fungal infections. […] Infectious diseases are caused by a variety of agents that invade your body from the outside. These include: Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi, Parasites, Prions. […] You may develop symptoms when your cells are damaged or destroyed by the invading organism and as your immune system responds to the infection.

• #2 Causes and Symptoms of an Infectious Disease | Apollo Diagnostics

  https://apollodiagnostics.in/blogs/causes-and-symptoms-of-an-infectious-disease-9

  An infectious disease is caused by any of the pathogenic microorganisms like viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. […] The causes of an infectious disease can be broken down into microorganisms, direct contact, indirect contact, insect bites and food/water contamination. […] These microorganisms are known to give rise to infectious disease, and can be detected with appropriate diagnostic tests – […] Bacteria – These uni-cell microorganisms can cause illnesses that include urinary tract infections and tuberculosis. […] Viruses – Viruses cause a range of diseases that can be as simple as common cold and as complicated as AIDS. […] Fungi – Most skin diseases are a result of fungal infections. Some of the examples include athlete’s foot, Tinea Versicolor, and ringworm. […] Parasites –One of the common examples is malaria, caused by a parasite transmitted through a mosquito bite.

• #2 Infectious Diseases – NFID

  https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/

  Pneumococcal disease is caused by common bacteria that can infect different parts of the body and is a leading cause of serious illness in people of all ages […] Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and is spread through contact with the stool (feces) of an infected person or droplets from a sneeze or cough […] Rabies is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal which can infect the central nervous system of mammals, ultimately causing disease in the brain and even death […] RSV is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages and can be serious, especially for infants and older adults […] Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that infects nearly all young children and is one of the most common and serious causes of severe diarrhea in the US

• #2 Introduction to Infectious Diseases | BCM

  https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/introduction-to-infectious-diseases

  Infectious diseases are disorders that are caused by organisms, usually microscopic in size, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that are passed, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. […] The majority of agents that cause disease in humans are viruses or bacteria, although the parasite that causes malaria is a notable example of a protozoan. […] Infectious diseases can be caused by several different classes of pathogenic organisms (commonly called germs). […] Examples of diseases caused by viruses are COVID-19, influenza, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, diarrheal diseases, hepatitis, and West Nile. Diseases caused by bacteria include anthrax, tuberculosis, salmonella, and respiratory and diarrheal diseases. […] A WHO report released in 2007 warns that infectious diseases are spreading more rapidly than ever before and that new infectious diseases are being discovered at a higher rate than at any time in history.

• #2 Infectious Diseases – NFID

  https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/

  Chickenpox is caused by the highly contagious varicella zoster virus and is spread by coughing, sneezing, or direct contact with skin lesions […] Chikungunya is an infection that can result in severe joint and muscle pain and is caused by a virus that spreads to people from the bite of an infected mosquito […] Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as COVID-19, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) […] Dengue viruses are spread through the bite of an infected mosquito and although symptoms can be mild, severe dengue can be life-threatening within a few hours […] Diphtheria is an acute bacterial disease that usually affects the tonsils, throat, nose, and/or skin

• #2 Infectious diseases – Symptoms & causes – Mayo Clinic

  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/infectious-diseases/symptoms-causes/syc-20351173

  Infectious diseases can be caused by: […] Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are examples of organisms that can cause illness. […] These one-cell organisms are responsible for illnesses such as strep throat, urinary tract infections and tuberculosis. […] These microscopic germs are even smaller than bacteria. They cause many diseases, including the common cold, COVID-19 and HIV. […] These cause many skin diseases, such as ringworm and athlete’s foot. Other types of fungi can infect the lungs, eyes, liver or brain. […] The disease malaria is caused by a tiny parasite that is spread by a mosquito bite. Other parasites may be spread to people from animal feces.

• #2 What are Infectious Diseases: Symptoms, Causes, and Types | Max hospital

  https://www.maxhealthcare.in/blogs/what-are-infectious-diseases

  Infectious diseases are illnesses triggered by a range of pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, protozoans, fungi, and parasites. These ailments can spread through animals, humans, insects, or other carriers. […] The agents of infection are ubiquitous, varying in form and structure. They can be classified according to certain shared traits and include single-celled organisms like fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Diseases can also be caused by more complex, multicellular organisms, like worms. […] Most infectious diseases are easily contracted through contact with an infected individual or animal. The spread of these diseases can occur through various means: […] Infectious diseases are often transmitted through the direct transfer of bacteria, viruses, or other germs from one person to another. This transmission can occur when an infected individual touches, kisses, coughs, or sneezes on someone who is not infected. Additionally, these germs can be exchanged through body fluids during sexual contact. Importantly, an individual who transmits the germ might not show any symptoms but could simply be a carrier.

• #2 Principles of Infectious Diseases: Transmission, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control

  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7150340/

  Infectious disease control and prevention relies on a thorough understanding of the factors determining transmission. […] An infectious disease can be defined as an illness due to a pathogen or its toxic product, which arises through transmission from an infected person, an infected animal, or a contaminated inanimate object to a susceptible host. […] Infectious disease control and prevention relies on a thorough understanding of the factors determining transmission. […] A classic model of infectious disease causation, the epidemiological triad, envisions that an infectious disease results from a combination of agent (pathogen), host, and environmental factors. […] Infectious agents may be living parasites, fungi, or bacteria, or nonliving viruses or prions. […] Infectivity is the likelihood that an agent will infect a host, given that the host is exposed to the agent. Pathogenicity refers to the ability of an agent to cause disease, given infection, and virulence is the likelihood of causing severe disease among those with disease.

• #2 12.2: Characteristics and Steps of Infectious Diseases – Biology LibreTexts

  https://bio.libretexts.org/Courses/Manchester_Community_College_(MCC)/Remix_of_Openstax%3AMicrobiology_by_Parker_Schneegurt_et_al/12%3A_Microbial_Interactions_Flora_Pathogenicity_and_Epidemiology/12.02%3A_How_Pathogens_Cause_Disease

  Less virulent pathogens may cause an initial infection, but may not always cause severe illness. […] Pathogens can be classified as either primary pathogens or opportunistic pathogens. […] A primary pathogen can cause disease in a host regardless of the hosts resident microbiota or immune system. […] An opportunistic pathogen, by contrast, can only cause disease in situations that compromise the hosts defenses, such as the bodys protective barriers, immune system, or normal microbiota. […] To cause disease, a pathogen must successfully achieve four steps or stages of pathogenesis: exposure (contact), adhesion (colonization), invasion, and infection. […] Pathogens enter the body through portals of entry and leave through portals of exit.

• #2 Communicable Diseases Module: 1. Basic Concepts in the Transmission of Communicable Diseases: View as single page | OLCreate

  https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=84&printable=1

  Many infectious agents can survive in different organisms, or on non-living objects, or in the environment. […] The place where the infectious agent is normally present before infecting a new human is called a reservoir. […] Without reservoirs, infectious agents could not survive and hence could not be transmitted to other people. […] The infectious agent gets out of the reservoir through a route of exit. […] Successful transmission of the infectious agent requires it to enter the host through a specific part of the body before it can cause disease. […] Individuals who are likely to develop a communicable disease after exposure to the infectious agents are called susceptible hosts. […] Factors that increase the susceptibility of a host to the development of a communicable disease are called risk factors.

• #2 Principles of Infectious Diseases: Transmission, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control

  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7150340/

  The outcome of exposure to an infectious agent depends, in part, upon multiple host factors that determine individual susceptibility to infection and disease. […] Environmental determinants of vulnerability to infectious diseases include physical, social, behavioral, cultural, political, and economic factors. […] The cause of any infectious disease is the infectious agent. […] Infectious agents can exist in more than one type of reservoir. […] Zoonosis is the term used to describe any infectious disease that is naturally transmissible from animals to humans. […] The chain starts with the infectious agent residing and multiplying in some natural reservoir; a human, animal, or part of the environment such as soil or water that supports the existence of the infectious agent in nature. […] The infectious agent leaves the reservoir via a portal of exit and, using some mode of transmission, moves to reach a portal of entry into a susceptible host.

• #2 Characteristics of Infectious Disease | Microbiology

  https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-mcc-microbiology/chapter/characteristics-of-infectious-disease/

  In contrast to communicable infectious diseases, a noncommunicableinfectious disease is not spread from one person to another. […] An acute disease is short in duration, whereas achronic disease lasts for months or years. […] The periods of disease include the incubation period, the prodromal period, the period of illness, the period of decline, and the period of convalescence. These periods are marked by changes in the number of infectious agents and the severity of signs and symptoms.

• #2 What are infectious diseases?

  https://www.yourgenome.org/theme/what-are-infectious-diseases/

  Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites and can spread between individuals. […] Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. […] Infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. […] Infectious diseases are diseases spread by pathogens – such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, or parasites. […] Pathogens cause disease either by disrupting the body’s normal processes and/or stimulating the immune system to produce a defensive response, resulting in high fever, inflammation and other symptoms. […] Infectious diseases can be spread from one person to another, for example through contact with bodily fluids, by aerosols (through coughing and sneezing), or via a vector, for example a mosquito.

• #2 Ways infectious diseases spread | SA Health

  https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/conditions/infectious+diseases/ways+infectious+diseases+spread

  Germs can spread through: […] Germs can spread directly from person to person or indirectly from an infected person to the environment (for example toys, door handles, bench tops, bedding and toilets) and then to another person who comes in contact with the contaminated environmental source. […] Some infections can be spread in several different ways. […] Germs can also spread from a mother to her unborn child, usually though blood (body fluids) but also through contact with skin or mucous membranes during delivery. […] Some infections are spread when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes small droplets containing infectious agents into the air. […] Some infections are spread when an infected person talks, breathes, coughs or sneezes tiny particles containing infectious agents into the air.

• #2 Ways infectious diseases spread | SA Health

  https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/conditions/infectious+diseases/ways+infectious+diseases+spread

  Some infections are spread when microscopic amounts of faeces (poo) from an infected person with symptoms or an infected person without symptoms (a carrier) are taken in by another person by mouth. […] Some infections are spread directly when skin or mucous membrane (the thin moist lining of many parts of the body such as the nose, mouth, throat and genitals) comes into contact with the skin or mucous membrane of another person. […] Some infections are spread when blood or other body fluids (for example for example, urine, saliva, breastmilk, semen and vaginal secretions) from an infected person comes into contact with: […] These infections are most commonly transmitted by sexual contact. […] These diseases result from ingestion of water or a wide variety of foods contaminated with disease-causing germs or their toxins. […] Some infections can be spread through the placenta from a mother to her unborn child or during delivery, or both. […] Some infectious diseases are almost never spread by contact with an infected person.

• #2 2. What causes outbreaks? · Infectious Disease Emergencies: Preparedness and Response

  https://emergencies.pubpub.org/pub/what-causes-outbreaks

  Biological, environmental and human factors contribute to outbreaks […] The circumstances that result in sources of transmission and the spread of pathogens are important to understanding disease outbreak. […] The emergence of novel diseases and the re-emergence of known diseases occur through an interplay of numerous factors. Consequently, pinpointing and influencing these factors can assist in predicting and preventing future outbreaks. […] Infectious disease emergence can be seen as a two-step process with the first phase being exposure of a new host population to a pathogen. The second phase is when the pathogen is established and disseminates within a community. […] An outbreak that rapidly spreads to affect susceptible populations over much of the world is termed a pandemic. A disease that becomes established in a population or region is said to be endemic.

• #2

  https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/emergencies/disease-outbreaks

  A disease outbreak is the occurrence of disease cases in excess of normal expectancy. The number of cases varies according to the disease-causing agent, and the size and type of previous and existing exposure to the agent. […] Disease outbreaks are usually caused by an infection, transmitted through person-to-person contact, animal-to-person contact, or from the environment or other media. […] Occasionally the cause of an outbreak is unknown, even after thorough investigation. […] A number of environmental factors influence the spread of communicable diseases that are prone to cause epidemics. The most important of these are: water supply, sanitation facilities, food, climate. […] Investigating the cause of a disease outbreak requires careful epidemiological and toxicological investigation. In some cases it may take many years of research before the etiological agent and its mechanism of toxicity are identified.

• #2 Climate Change and Infectious Diseases | NETEC

  https://netec.org/2024/03/25/climate-change-and-infectious-diseases/

  The complex interplay between climate change, ecosystems, and human activities can create conditions that favor the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, posing significant challenges to public health. […] Climate change trends such as shifts in seasonal temperature and precipitation patterns, an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and changes in global weather patterns can create conditions conducive to the spread of infectious diseases. Infectious diseases sensitive to climate changes include: […] The rapid expansion and exposure to ticks and tick-borne diseases is fueled by several factors. In addition to the effects of climate change, ecological changes including reforestation, abundant deer populations, the expansion of suburbia into wooded areas and the resulting increased exposure of people to ticks all contribute to the rise in tick-borne diseases in the U.S.

• #2 Infectious Diseases and Climate Change | Washington State Department of Health

  https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/climate-and-health/infectious-diseases

  Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, heatwaves, and storms, can have profound effects on food safety and contribute to an increased risk of foodborne illnesses. […] Climate change can influence temperature, salinity, and nutrient availability in coastal waters, contributing to increased growth and distribution of marine bacteria, including Vibrio, the pathogen that causes vibriosis. […] Zoonotic and vector-borne diseases are caused by infectious agents that spread from animals and arthropods (such as mosquitos and ticks) to people. […] The environmental and ecosystem health impacts of climate change influence the behavior, geographic range, and health of animals and vectors, which can change the distribution and human health risk of these diseases. […] Warmer average temperatures throughout the state could result in expanded mosquito distribution.

• #2

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emerging-infections-characteristics-epidemiology-and-global-distribution/emerging-infections-how-and-why-they-arise

  Activities such as sexual contact, drug use or outdoor recreational activities can result in increased exposure to an infectious microbe. […] Some diseases emerge as a direct consequence of technological change. […] The speed and ease with which humans, animals and other goods can be transported around the world has made it much easier to spread both microbes and the vectors or vehicles that can transmit them. […] The spread of existing infections and the emergence of new ones in many areas of the world can be caused by poor sanitary conditions, hygiene and a lack of clean drinking water. […] The human body has many defences against infection. These defences can become weakened through disease, increasing age or other influences making individuals more vulnerable to infection.

• #2 Azthena logo with the word Azthena

  https://www.news-medical.net/health/Sex-Differences-in-Infectious-Diseases.aspx

  Sex differences in infectious diseases also depend on a range of socioeconomic variables, especially in countries with substantial ethnic diversity and income inequality. […] Sex-based mechanisms significantly affect disease susceptibility, severity, and treatment response. Hence, considering both sexes in infectious disease research is essential.

• #2 Infectious Causes of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases and Cancer – Volume 4, Number 3—September 1998 – Emerging Infectious Diseases journal – CDC

  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/4/3/98-0339_article

  Powerful diagnostic technology, plus the realization that organisms of otherwise unimpressive virulence can produce slowly progressive chronic disease with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations and disease outcomes, has resulted in the discovery of new infectious agents and new concepts of infectious diseases. […] The demonstration that final outcome of infection is as much determined by the genetic background of the patient as by the genetic makeup of the infecting agent is indicating that a number of chronic diseases of unknown etiology are caused by one or more infectious agents. […] Recent data suggest a role for one or more infectious agents in the following chronic diseases: chronic lung diseases (including asthma), cardiovascular disease, and cancer. […] The belief that infectious agents are a cause of chronic inflammatory diseases of unknown etiology and of cancer is not new.

• #2 The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases: Defining the Relationship, Enhancing the Research, and Mitigating the Effects: Workshop Summary | The National Academies Press

  https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11026/the-infectious-etiology-of-chronic-diseases-defining-the-relationship-enhancing

  In recent years, a number of chronic diseases have been linked, in some cases definitively, to an infectious etiology: peptic ulcer disease with Helicobacter pylori, cervical cancer with several human papillomaviruses, Lyme arthritis and neuroborreliosis with Borrelia burgdorferi, AIDS with the human immunodeficiency virus, liver cancer and cirrhosis with hepatitis B and C viruses, to name a few. […] The proven and suspected roles of microbes does not stop with physical ailments; infections are increasingly being examined as associated causes of or possible contributors to a variety of serious, chronic neuropsychiatric disorders and to developmental problems, especially in children. […] Participants explored factors driving infectious etiologies of chronic diseases of prominence, identified difficulties in linking infectious agents with chronic outcomes, and discussed broad-based strategies and research programs to advance the field.

• #2 OVERVIEW – The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases – NCBI Bookshelf

  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK83680/

  William Mason presented the association between hepatitis B virus infection and liver disease. […] Michael Dunne described the relationship between infection and cardiovascular disease. […] Richard Johnson reviewed the various ways that viral infections are associated with demyelinating diseases in animals and humans, including such direct routes as oligodendrocytes or Schwann cells causing demyelination through cell lysis or alteration of cell metabolism; […] Mark Pallansch discussed some of the difficulties in addressing the association of chronic diseases with infectious diseases, using diabetes and enteroviruses as examples. […] Robert Yolken and Fuller Torrey examined associations between infectious agents and schizophrenia. […] Hung Fan examined evidence from an animal model supporting the possibility that an infectious agent may be involved in human lung adenocarcinoma.

• #2 Risk Factors: Infectious Agents – NCI

  https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents

  Certain infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites, can cause cancer or increase the risk that cancer will form. […] HIV does not cause cancer itself, but infection with HIV weakens the immune system and makes the body less able to fight off other infections that cause cancer. […] Infection with high-risk types of HPV cause nearly all cervical cancers. […] Chronic infections with HBV or HCV can cause liver cancer. […] H. pylori is a type of bacterium that can cause noncardia gastric cancer (a type of stomach cancer) and a type of lymphoma in the stomach lining, gastric MALT lymphoma. […] This parasitic flatworm (fluke), which is found in Southeast Asia, can cause cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts in the liver). […] This parasitic flatworm (fluke), which lives in certain types of freshwater snails found in Africa and the Middle East, can cause bladder cancer.

• #2 What are Infectious Diseases: Symptoms, Causes, and Types | Max hospital

  https://www.maxhealthcare.in/blogs/what-are-infectious-diseases

  Infections can also be passed from animals to humans. This can happen through bites or scratches from an infected animal, including pets, and can sometimes be fatal. Handling animal waste poses risks too; for instance, toxoplasmosis can be contracted by cleaning a cat’s litter box. […] Pregnant women can transmit infectious diseases to their unborn babies. Some germs can cross the placenta or be passed through breast milk. Additionally, germs present in the vagina can be transmitted to the baby during childbirth. […] Organisms causing disease can be transmitted through indirect contact. Many germs survive on inanimate objects like tabletops, doorknobs, or faucet handles. For example, touching a doorknob handled by someone with the flu or a cold and then touching one’s face without washing hands can lead to infection.

• #2 Summary and Assessment | The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases: Defining the Relationship, Enhancing the Research, and Mitigating the Effects: Workshop Summary | The National Academies Press

  https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/11026/chapter/2

  The proven and suspected roles of microbes does not stop with physical ailments; infections are increasingly being examined as associated causes of or possible contributors to a variety of serious, chronic neuropsychiatric disorders and to developmental problems, especially in children. […] Emerging infectious diseases are conceptualized either as newly identified or appreciated infectious illnesses and conditions, or as previously recognized syndromes that are newly attributed to infection. […] Some scientists now believe that a substantial portion of chronic diseases may be causally linked to infectious agents. […] Just as the germ theory opened the way for numerous discoveries about the sources of acute infections, changing ideas about the nature of both infectious diseases and chronic diseases, coupled with the advent of powerful new laboratory techniques, are leading to novel claims concerning the infectious origins of chronic diseases. […] The substantial burden posed by chronic diseases of likely infectious etiology demands global attention and action. Evidence continues to mount implicating microorganisms as important etiologic agents of chronic diseases that contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality.

• #2 Infection – Wikipedia

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infection

  The immune system response to a microorganism often causes symptoms such as a high fever and inflammation, and has the potential to be more devastating than direct damage caused by a microbe. […] Resistance to infection (immunity) may be acquired following a disease, by asymptomatic carriage of the pathogen, by harboring an organism with a similar structure (crossreacting), or by vaccination. […] The organism that is the target of an infecting action of a specific infectious agent is called the host. […] The host harbouring an agent that is in a mature or sexually active stage phase is called the definitive host. […] The clearance of the pathogens, either treatment-induced or spontaneous, it can be influenced by the genetic variants carried by the individual patients.

• #2 Project MUSE – Infectious Causation of Disease: An Evolutionary Perspective

  https://muse.jhu.edu/article/25974/summary

  Over the past two centuries, diseases have been separated into three categories: infectious diseases, genetic diseases, and diseases caused by too much or too little of some noninfectious environmental constituent. […] This rapid progress can be attributed in large part to Koch’s postulates, a rigorous systematic approach to identification of microbes as causes of disease. […] While guiding researchers down one path, however, the postulates directed them away from alternative paths: researchers attempting to document infectious causation were guided away from diseases that had little chance of fulfilling the postulates, even though they might have been infectious. […] The difficulty of distinguishing noninfectious chemical insults from infection is often attributable to the similarities between the spread of diseases caused by a common source of toxins and the spread of infectious disease. […] Distinguishing microbes from environmental toxins as etiologic agents is still a source of controversy.

• #2 Infectious Disease Causes and Risk Factors in Developing Countries: Adults | SpringerLink

  https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-74786-2_328-1

  Infectious diseases in adults in developing countries pose significant challenges to healthcare systems and public health. This chapter explores the causes and risk factors associated with these diseases, highlighting the importance of understanding their underlying drivers. Factors such as poverty, limited access to healthcare, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene practices contribute to the burden of infectious diseases. Additionally, social determinants of health, environmental factors, and occupational exposures play significant roles. Preventive strategies, including strengthening healthcare systems, promoting hygiene practices, enhancing surveillance systems, and fostering intersectoral collaboration, are essential for prevention and control. The recommendations provided aim to guide policymakers, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders in implementing effective interventions and addressing the causes of infectious diseases in adults in developing countries.

• #2

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities/what-infections-are-how-they-are-transmitted-and-those-at-higher-risk-of-infection

  Infections are caused by micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, otherwise known as germs. […] Some germs can cause infections when they get into the wrong place, which can result in symptoms such as fever and sickness. […] The mode of transmission is a term used to describe how germs are spread from person to person. […] Some infections can be spread by direct contact with the infected area to another person’s body, or via contact with a contaminated surface. […] Gastro-intestinal infections can spread from person to person when infected faeces or vomit are transferred to the mouth either directly or from contaminated food, water, or objects such as toys, door handles or toilet flush handles. […] Blood borne viruses are viruses that some people carry in their blood and can be spread from one person to another by contact with infected blood or body fluids.

• #2 Developing countries and infectious disease | EBSCO Research Starters

  https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/consumer-health/developing-countries-and-infectious-disease

  HIV has been historically most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, with women accounting for the majority of new infections. […] Maternal and paternal deaths from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the advanced stage of HIV infection, resulted in an enormous increase in the number of so-called AIDS orphans in developing nations during the late 1990s and early 2000s. […] Treatment of TB requires accurate diagnosis, which is often unavailable in undeveloped areas, and also requires long-term compliance with a daily medication regimen. […] Diarrheal illness and its nearly inevitable complications of dehydration and malnutrition are large contributors to the disease burden in developing countries, particularly in children younger than age five. […] Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) infect billions of people worldwide, yet they are often unknown in developed countries. […] Infectious diseases in developing countries remain a huge global problem.

• #2 Causes of Death – Our World in Data

  https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death

  In the past, infectious diseases dominated. But death rates from infectious diseases have fallen quickly faster than other causes. […] Infectious diseases were most common they kill an estimated 2.2 million children annually. They include pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, malaria, and meningitis. […] Another example is that death rates from infectious diseases and respiratory diseases have declined over time especially from the mid-20th century onwards, with the rise of antibiotics, vaccines, and public healthcare. […] In poorer countries in Africa and Asia where clean water, sanitation, and access to healthcare are lacking people are much more likely to die from infectious diseases, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional causes. […] First, infectious diseases are much more common in poorer countries, and treatment is often lacking.

• #2 Infectious disease as a driver of declines and extinctions | Cambridge Prisms: Extinction | Cambridge Core

  https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-prisms-extinction/article/infectious-disease-as-a-driver-of-declines-and-extinctions/D7B886C5E729C03C8EB5B7D747422AC2

  Chytridiomycosis is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and is a fatal skin disease in amphibians. […] The fungus was first identified as the causative agent of multiple frog declines and extinctions in the Americas and Australia around the turn of the century. […] This pathogen has the capacity to survive off the host in an environmental reservoir within the caves where bats hibernate, meaning that transmission is not strongly dependent on bat population density. […] The ecological community in which a host-pathogen interaction is embedded is critically important in determining whether a pathogen is capable of threatening the extinction of the focal host. […] When hosts are exposed to novel pathogens, with which they have not evolved, effects may be especially severe.

• #2 Emerging Infectious Diseases | BCM

  https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/emerging-infectious-diseases

  Climate change is increasingly becoming a concern as a factor in the emergence of infectious diseases. […] A factor that is especially important in the re-emergence of diseases is antimicrobial resistance – the acquired resistance of pathogens to antimicrobial medications such as antibiotics. […] Another factor that can cause a disease to re-emerge is a decline in vaccine coverage, so that even when a safe and effective vaccine exists, a growing number of people choose not to become vaccinated. […] Influenza virus is infamous for its ability to change its genetic information. […] The case of the coronaviruses SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 (which cause the diseases SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 respectively), represents instances of how viruses can move from animals into humans, acquire the ability to spread from person to person and then, with great speed, reach around the globe as a result of air travel.

• #2 Bacterial infections – symptoms, causes and treatments | healthdirect

  https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/bacterial-infections

  Bacteria can also be transmitted by contact with infected blood or other bodily fluids. […] Knowing the exact cause of your illness can help your doctor recommend the best treatment and avoid unnecessary antibiotic use, which can lead to antibiotic resistance. […] Serious bacterial infections can be effectively treated with antibiotics. […] Antibiotic resistance makes antibiotics less effective over time, so it’s important to only take antibiotics as directed by your doctor or pharmacist. […] Bacterial infections can be contagious. […] You can reduce the spread of infections by washing your hands properly.

• #2

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emerging-infections-characteristics-epidemiology-and-global-distribution/emerging-infections-how-and-why-they-arise

  Between 60% and 80% of emerging infections are derived from animal sources. […] Infectious disease emergence involves 2 main steps: An agent is introduced into a new host population. The agent is established and transmitted within the new host population. […] Disease emergence results from interactions between microbes and humans. These can be complex and multi-factorial. […] Microbes continually adapt to the environment in which they live. The changes that result may enable them to evade the human immune system or provide them with a new ability to invade human or animal cells. […] Ecological changes, including those due to agricultural or economic development, are among the most frequently identified factors in disease emergence. […] Climate change can have a direct impact on how diseases are spread; either through effects on microbes and vectors or because we may modify our behaviour in response to climate change.

• #2 Emerging Infectious Diseases | BCM

  https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/emerging-infectious-diseases

  Emerging infectious diseases are infections that have recently appeared within a population or those whose incidence or geographic range is rapidly increasing or threatens to increase in the near future. Emerging infections can be caused by: […] The World Health Organization warned in its 2007 report that infectious diseases are emerging at a rate that has not been seen before. […] There are many factors involved in the emergence of new infectious diseases or the re-emergence of old infectious diseases. […] For an emerging disease to become established at least two events have to occur (1) the infectious agent has to be introduced into a vulnerable population and (2) the agent has to have the ability to spread readily from person-to-person and cause disease. […] Many emerging diseases arise when infectious agents in animals are passed to humans (referred to as zoonoses).

• #2 2. What causes outbreaks? · Infectious Disease Emergencies: Preparedness and Response

  https://emergencies.pubpub.org/pub/what-causes-outbreaks

  The likelihood of a given virus to be transmissible from animals to humans is known as its zoonotic potential. […] Globalisation, which encompasses migration, tourism, and international trade, can directly amplify infection transmission. […] Changes in the pattern of human activity in the last 50 years have greatly increased the risk of zoonotic transmission, principally by changes to the animal environment and human population. […] The smaller the phylogenetic distance between animal host and human host, the more likely it is for viral adaptations to be applicable to the new host and for host barriers to be overcome. […] Understanding the causes of outbreaks is fundamental to outbreak preparedness and response. […] Infectious disease outbreaks have regularly featured in human history. Understanding the causative pathogens, modes of transmission, environment, and factors impacting outbreak amplification is essential to preventing and containing future outbreaks.

• #2 Infectious Diseases – IDS

  https://www.idsplc.com/disease-areas/infectious-diseases/

  Infectious diseases (ID) are disorders caused by organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. ID can be passed from person to person, transmitted by insects or other animals. Some ID are caused by consuming contaminated food or water or being exposed to organisms in the environment. […] Infectious Diseases are becoming increasingly difficult to manage and representing one of the major causes of death in the world. Increasing ID incidence has lead to a continuous need for novel diagnostic tests to new agents and to the demand of tests that are easy to perform and quick in providing results for faster diagnosis and treatment decision.

• #2 What are infectious diseases?

  https://www.yourgenome.org/theme/what-are-infectious-diseases/

  Infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. […] Many diseases become difficult to control if the infectious agents evolve resistance to commonly used drugs. […] For example, bacteria can accumulate mutations in their DNA or acquire new genes that allow them to survive contact with antibiotic drugs that would normally kill them. […] Scientists are currently searching for new approaches to treat infectious diseases, focusing on exactly how the pathogens change and drug resistance evolves.

• #3 Introduction to Infectious Diseases | BCM

  https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/introduction-to-infectious-diseases

  Infectious diseases are disorders that are caused by organisms, usually microscopic in size, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that are passed, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. […] The majority of agents that cause disease in humans are viruses or bacteria, although the parasite that causes malaria is a notable example of a protozoan. […] Infectious diseases can be caused by several different classes of pathogenic organisms (commonly called germs). […] Examples of diseases caused by viruses are COVID-19, influenza, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, diarrheal diseases, hepatitis, and West Nile. Diseases caused by bacteria include anthrax, tuberculosis, salmonella, and respiratory and diarrheal diseases. […] A WHO report released in 2007 warns that infectious diseases are spreading more rapidly than ever before and that new infectious diseases are being discovered at a higher rate than at any time in history.

• #3 2. What causes outbreaks? · Infectious Disease Emergencies: Preparedness and Response

  https://emergencies.pubpub.org/pub/what-causes-outbreaks

  This chapter will discuss the causes of outbreaks, detailing sources of transmission, pathogen-environment interplay, outbreak investigations, and system weaknesses allowing disease propagation, and will conclude with thoughts on the future of pandemic prevention. […] Infectious disease outbreaks result from successful human pathogen transmission, originating from one of many potential sources. […] Pathogens may be viruses, bacteria, or uni- and multicellular eukaryotes that cause disease in the host. […] Classically pathogens comprise facultative and obligate pathogens, where the former can usually reproduce independently, and the latter requires one or multiple hosts to complete its life cycle. […] All viruses, and certain bacteria and parasites are obligate pathogens, and these are more often the cause of outbreaks.

• #3 Infectious Diseases – NFID

  https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/

  Rubella, sometimes called German measles, is caused by a virus and can cause serious birth defects […] Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox which remains inactive in the body for life and can reactivate years, or even decades later, causing shingles […] Tetanus, sometimes called lockjaw, is a bacterial disease that affects the nervous system and is contracted through cuts or wounds that become contaminated with tetanus bacteria […] Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that most often affects the lungs. TB is caused by a type of bacteria that spreads through the air when infected people cough, sneeze, or spit […] Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is a serious infection that spreads easily from person to person and can cause coughing spells that are so severe that it can be hard to breathe, eat, or sleep […] Zika is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes and can be transmitted by pregnant women to developing babies, which can cause microcephaly and other serious birth defects.

• #3 Infectious Diseases – NFID

  https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/

  Chickenpox is caused by the highly contagious varicella zoster virus and is spread by coughing, sneezing, or direct contact with skin lesions […] Chikungunya is an infection that can result in severe joint and muscle pain and is caused by a virus that spreads to people from the bite of an infected mosquito […] Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as COVID-19, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) […] Dengue viruses are spread through the bite of an infected mosquito and although symptoms can be mild, severe dengue can be life-threatening within a few hours […] Diphtheria is an acute bacterial disease that usually affects the tonsils, throat, nose, and/or skin

• #3 Infectious Diseases – NFID

  https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/

  Ebola is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with a virus that can cause illness in humans and other primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) […] Flu is a contagious disease caused by an influenza virus and can cause serious illness in people, even if they are otherwise healthy […] Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver and the most common types of viral hepatitis in the US are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C […] Hib disease is a serious illness that can cause meningitis, pneumonia, and other serious infections, with infants and children younger than age 5 years most at risk […] Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) […] Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US that can cause certain cancers and genital warts

• #3 What are Infectious Diseases: Symptoms, Causes, and Types | Max hospital

  https://www.maxhealthcare.in/blogs/what-are-infectious-diseases

  Infections can also be passed from animals to humans. This can happen through bites or scratches from an infected animal, including pets, and can sometimes be fatal. Handling animal waste poses risks too; for instance, toxoplasmosis can be contracted by cleaning a cat’s litter box. […] Pregnant women can transmit infectious diseases to their unborn babies. Some germs can cross the placenta or be passed through breast milk. Additionally, germs present in the vagina can be transmitted to the baby during childbirth. […] Organisms causing disease can be transmitted through indirect contact. Many germs survive on inanimate objects like tabletops, doorknobs, or faucet handles. For example, touching a doorknob handled by someone with the flu or a cold and then touching one’s face without washing hands can lead to infection.

• #3 OVERVIEW – The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases – NCBI Bookshelf

  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK83680/

  David Persing discussed the pathogenesis of acne, a dermatologic inflammatory disease unique to humans and the most common dermatological complaint of adolescents and young adults. […] Studies in each of these areas are advancing our understanding of the role that infections play in chronic diseases. But the path from suspecting a microorganism to proving its association with a specific disease can be long. The discovery that H. pylori can cause duodenal ulcer disease is often cited as case in point of both the hurdles and the rewards.

• #4 Infectious Diseases – NFID

  https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/

  Pneumococcal disease is caused by common bacteria that can infect different parts of the body and is a leading cause of serious illness in people of all ages […] Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and is spread through contact with the stool (feces) of an infected person or droplets from a sneeze or cough […] Rabies is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal which can infect the central nervous system of mammals, ultimately causing disease in the brain and even death […] RSV is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages and can be serious, especially for infants and older adults […] Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that infects nearly all young children and is one of the most common and serious causes of severe diarrhea in the US

• #4 Infectious Diseases – NFID

  https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/

  Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a potentially severe disease caused by a virus spread by infected mosquitos in Asia and the western Pacific […] Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can result in severe and sometimes permanent complications including pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and even death […] Meningococcal disease is a serious bacterial infection that most often leads to severe swelling of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) or bloodstream infection […] Mpox is a rare disease that is caused by infection with mpox virus and is spread through contact with an infected animal, human, or contaminated surface […] Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus that spreads easily through coughing and sneezing […] Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that spreads through contaminated food, water, surfaces, or contact with an infected person and can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain

• #5 Infectious Diseases – NFID

  https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/

  Rubella, sometimes called German measles, is caused by a virus and can cause serious birth defects […] Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox which remains inactive in the body for life and can reactivate years, or even decades later, causing shingles […] Tetanus, sometimes called lockjaw, is a bacterial disease that affects the nervous system and is contracted through cuts or wounds that become contaminated with tetanus bacteria […] Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that most often affects the lungs. TB is caused by a type of bacteria that spreads through the air when infected people cough, sneeze, or spit […] Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is a serious infection that spreads easily from person to person and can cause coughing spells that are so severe that it can be hard to breathe, eat, or sleep […] Zika is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes and can be transmitted by pregnant women to developing babies, which can cause microcephaly and other serious birth defects.

Zobacz więcej