Infections definition involves detrimental colonization

Added: 12/08/2005

Infections definition says that infection is detrimental colonization of the host organism and foreign species. The definition of an infection can be executed with the help of two methods. After defining the infectious character of the disease, the diagnosis is determined. It is also necessary to find out the antibiotic resistance of the agent. Only after that it is possible to prescribe the right therapy to the patient, which will be the most effective in his case.

Infections definition sounds in the following way. Infection is defined as the detrimental colonization of the host organism and foreign species. The process of colonization is executed by an infecting organism that looks for a host organism whose resources it will be able to use in order to grow and multiply. The infecting organism is called a pathogen. It intrudes into the normal functioning of the organism causing various chronic wounds, gangrenes and death. The response of the host to this colonization is represented in the form of the inflammation.

Commonly, a pathogen is considered to be a microscopic organism. But the infections definition is much broader. While giving infections definition to the pathogen, it is necessary to mention such organisms as bacteria, fungi, prions, viroids, parasites and viruses. The infectious disease is the medicine branch that gives infections definition and studies pathogens and infections as they are.

The infectious disease is the science that helps identify whether the disease is infectious or not. This can be done using Koch`s postulates. Robert Koch stated that the disease can be identified as infectious if it is identified in the patient and is out of control, and the patients contracting the agent develop the disease as well. The postulates of the scientist were tested during the definition of mycobacteria as the cause of such a disease as tuberculosis. It is necessary to mention that sometimes it is really impossible to satisfy all the criteria while defining some disease though it may be clearly seen that the disease is infectious. Treponema pallidum, which is the causative of syphilis, can be taken as an example. It cannot be cultured.

Epidemiology is another tool of paramount importance that is able to define disease in population. Speaking about infectious diseases, it can determine whether the disease outbreak is pandemic (spread all over the world), endemic (frequent cases happening in this or that region) or sporadic (occurs occasionally).

Diagnosis is usually made on the base of physical examination, medical history and X-rays (though the imaging may be different). Nevertheless, it is microbiological culture that plays the principal role in infectious diseases. The culture provides the growth medium for particular agents. The presence of bacterial growth is determined by means of making inoculation of tissue or of a sample of diseased fluid to the medium. This procedure can be used for a number of bacteria, such as Streptococcus or Staphylococcus.

After the culture has showed the positive result, it is necessary to define the sensitivity or antibiotic resistance of the agent. This can be done by means of exposing the agent to test doses of the antibiotic. This procedure helps microbiologists define how sensitive the bacterium is to this or that antibiotic. The result of this test can be as follows: resistant, intermediate or sensitive. In order to determine the optimal therapy microbiologists use antibiogram.

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