![The National Academies: What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease](/id/media/images/site/print-header.gif)
What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease
How Infection Works
Types of Microbes
The microorganisms, or microbes, that can cause disease come in different forms. Viruses and bacteria are probably the most familiar because we hear so much about them. But fungi, protozoa, and helminths are also big players in the story of infectious disease. Learn more about each of these five main categories, as well as a recently discovered one: prions.
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What do you know about infectious disease?
For which of the following diseases do we currently lack an effective vaccine for prevention?
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Although there are treatments available in the form of antivirals, we still currently lack a vaccine for HIV.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Although there are treatments available in the form of antivirals, we still currently lack a vaccine for HIV.
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Correct!
Although there are treatments available in the form of antivirals, we still currently lack a vaccine for HIV.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Although there are treatments available in the form of antivirals, we still currently lack a vaccine for HIV.
Infectious Disease Defined
- Cytokine
A type of protein secreted by cells in the immune system that carries signals that facilitate cell-to-cell communication and help regulate the way the immune system responds to inflammation and infection.
National Academies
Search the National Academies Press website by selecting one of these related terms.
Source Material
- Fungal Diseases: An Emerging Threat to Human, Animal, and Plant Health— Workshop Summary (2011)
- Infectious Disease Movement in a Borderless World—Workshop Summary (2010)
- Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation: A Tribute to the Life and Scientific Legacies of Joshua Lederberg (2009)
- The New Science of Metagenomics: Revealing the Secrets of Our Microbial Planet (2007)
- Ending the War Metaphor: The Changing Agenda for Unraveling the Host-Microbe Relationship—Workshop Summary (2006)
- Microbial Threats to Health: Emergence, Detection, and Response (2003)