infectious disease

• Infectious dose –  number of organisms needed to successfully infect
• Latent period -  exposure to infectiousness interval
• Incubation period – interval from exposure to clinical symptoms
• Infectious period – interval during which host can transmit infection
• Reproductive rate – ability of an agent to spread in populations
• Outbreak – limited spread
• Endemic – usually present; steady prevalence
• Epidemic – rapid spread
• Pandemic – occurring across countries and in multiple populations
• Virulence - is a pathogen's or microorganism's ability to cause damage to a host
• Pathogenicity - is the capacity of an organism to cause disease.
• Immunogenicity - is the ability to induce a humoral and/or cell-mediated immune response.
• Bacteremia - Bacteria circulating in the bloodstream
• Colonization - Establishment and growth of a microorganism on a body surface
• Disease - Noticeable impairment of body function
• Immunocompromised - A host with weaknesses or defects in the innate or adaptive defenses
• Inapparent infection - Infection with no obvious symptoms
• Infectious disease - Disease caused by an infecting microorganism or virus
• Latent infection - Infection in which the infectious agent is present but not active
• Opportunistic pathogens - Organisms that cause disease only when introduced into an unusual location or into an immunocompromised host
• Parasite - An organism that benefits at the expense of another organism, the host
• Pathogen - Any disease-causing microorganism or virus
• Pathogenic - Disease-causing
• Primary infection - Infection in a previously healthy person
• Secondary infection - An additional infection that occurs as a result of a primary infection and that occurs during or immediately following the primary infection
• Septicemia - Acute illness caused by infectious agents or their products circulating in the bloodstream
• Systemic infection - Widespread infection through blood or lymph
• Toxemia - Toxin circulating in the bloodstream
• Viremia - Viruses circulating in the bloodstream
• Virulence determinants - Attributes of a microorganism or virus that promote pathogenicity