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.
Explore Other Topics
What do you know about infectious disease?
If you have strep throat, which of the following forms of medication can be used to effectively treat the infection?
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Because strep throat is caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pyogenes, it is treatable with antibiotics but not antivirals. Currently there is no vaccine available to prevent strep throat.
-
Correct!
Because strep throat is caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pyogenes, it is treatable with antibiotics but not antivirals. Currently there is no vaccine available to prevent strep throat.
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Because strep throat is caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pyogenes, it is treatable with antibiotics but not antivirals. Currently there is no vaccine available to prevent strep throat.
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Because strep throat is caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pyogenes, it is treatable with antibiotics but not antivirals. Currently there is no vaccine available to prevent strep throat.
Infectious Disease Defined
- Contagion
A general term for any disease-causing infectious agent spread by direct or indirect contact.
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)
