Infection definitions

• Antibiotics


  Medicines that help to cure bacterial disease by killing infective bacteria inside the body
• Clinical drug testing


  Drug testing done on healthy human volunteers and patients
• Communicable disease


  A disease that can be spread between individuals either directly or indirectly
• Double blind trial


  A study performed where neither the researcher or patient know whether the patient is taking the drug or a placebo
• Gonorrhoea


  A sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by a bacterium with symptoms of a thick yellow or green discharge from the vagina or penis and pain on urinating
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)


  An infectious virus that weakens the immune system and can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)
• Malaria


  A disease caused by a protist that causes recurrent episodes of fever and can be fatal
• Measles


  A serious disease caused by a virus that shows symptoms of fever and a red skin rash
• Monoclonal antibodies


  Antibodies produced from a single clone of cells that are specific to one binding site on one protein antigen
• Non-communicable disease


  A disease which cannot be spread between individuals
• Non-specific defence


  General physical and chemical barriers that defend the body against lots of different types of pathogen
• Pathogens


  Microorganisms that cause infectious disease
• Placebo


  A substance designed to be indistinguishable from a drug being tested but has no actual effect on the patient
• Preclinical drug testing


  Drug testing done in a laboratory using cells, tissues and live animals
• Rose black spot


  A fungal disease where purple or black spots develop on leaves, which often turn yellow and drop early
• Salmonella


  A bacterial disease that is spread by bacteria ingested in food and can cause a fever, abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea
• Side effects


  Other additional effects that the drug has that are different from the expected effect of the drug
• Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)


  A widespread plant pathogen affecting many species of plants which produces a mosaic pattern on the leaves and limits the plant growth
• Vaccination


  The process of introducing small quantities of dead or inactive forms of a pathogen into the body to stimulate the white blood cells to produce antibodies
• White blood cell


  An important type of cell that makes up the immune system and produces antibodies and antitoxins