Infectious diseases

Our whole life sometimes spare in the womb we are exposed to infectious diseases. There probably isn't any man, which hasn't gone through such an illness before, is it as a harmless diarrhea illness or in form of a cold.

One talks about an infection if microorganisms penetrate, settle there and increase into a host organism. Depending on pathogenicity which this means ability of the shoot ill to make and the infection vulnerability of the macro organism (man, animal, plant) it can come to an infectious disease.

Viruses, bacteria, mushrooms, animal protist and parasites, are part of the pathogens. Most illnesses in the childhood are caused by viruses and bacteria. You are completely different "organisms" whose illnesses must be given therapy to in a different way.

200 are (more smally than a cell) great particles which consist of a nucleid acid nucleus and a lipoprotein membrane viruses to 300 nm. You don't dispose of any metabolism of your own but force the cell after the injection of its inheriting material (DNA, RNA) into a host cell to produce many identical copies of it alone (the virus) and then to release these under destruction of the host cell. The new viruses then affect new cells again. This reproduction cycle makes viruses immune for antibiotics since they are in the reproduction phase in the human cells and don't offer any targets. However, viral infections lead to the formation of specific antibodies. Antibodies become formedly by vaccination against the vaccinated virus with weakened viruses or virus parts which are important to the immune reaction. An infection with the shoot leads to a clinical picture weakened very much or the illness fails to appear. We are immune. Prokaryonten and around 200 to 2000 nm are greatly bacteria (up to the size of a cell). You are single-celled organisms and have a metabolism of your own. During their reproduction phase (very rapid cell division) antibiotics can disturb their cell division in the most various way. Since they have cell components which are available with people in another expression (for example ribosomes), the antibiotics disrupt the increase of the bacteria specifically and bring it about to these succumb.

There are even parasites which one virally caused both as an infection caused bacterially also transferred. The ticks are an example of it. You infect both Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of the borreliosis, with FSME viruses, the pathogenes of the early summer meningo encephalitis and the bacterium. Mushrooms and animal protists (protocoen) are eukaryonten (> 2000 nm). Mushrooms are organisms organized many-celled and represent an empire of their own next to the animals and plants. The shapes serving the reproduction and mechanisms are exceptionally diverse and basis for the classification of the mushrooms. For the human organism mushrooms are usually pathogenetic only at a local or general pre-lesion or defense weakness (nosoparasite). Sie verursachen so genannte Mykosen. The infection is Candida Albicans of importance with the yeast mushroom in the childhood. It is the pathogene of the mouth, intestine and diaper thrush. The medical treatment is (local nystatin, systemic imidazole derivatives or amphotericin B) carried out with antimycotika.

The animal protists stand out due to their size and due to a more highly developed cell organization. The reproduction happens asexually or sexually. Sometimes they go through a complicated design cycle with host climacteric. You are primarily dangerous pathogens (Plasmodium > malaria causative agent) in the tropics and subtropics. Toxoplasma gondii, the pathogene of the toxoplasmosis, is worldwide common. For the unborn one a first (primary) infection of the mother represents a danger with this causative agent in the pregnancy. The causative agent can be transferred and damage it heavily on the child. (also see infections and pregnancy in the pregnancy portal to this). There is Protozoenmittel (for example Chloroquin, metronidazole, pyrimethamine) to the medical treatment of protozoiases.

The antibiotics (Alexander Flemming 1928-> penicillin) and the vaccinations (Edward Jenner 1796-> smallpox) thank twos of scientific achievements many, early infectious diseases of the frights going deadly can be taken away from. Scarlet fever, a bacterial infectious disease, was earlier before discovery of the penicillin, one of the most frequent causes of death in the childhood. In the past, the poliomyelitis (polio) or veins were heavy illnesses with death consequence or heavy permanent damages, too. You can met by vaccinations today prophylactically be.

Of course many infectious diseases are cured also without therapeutic measures without consequences after a particular time. However, there still are infectious diseases, which isn't curable today certainly, too or these for healing medicines as well as systemic support, like confinement to bed, ample fluid supply and vitamins, require. Some infectious diseases often need a lifelong, intensive accompanying therapy, too.

As a special form of the infectious diseases the so-called childhood diseases can be seen. Of course all illnesses are childhood diseases in the childhood. There are thus however typical illnesses of this life phase meant which are accompanied by an exanthema (exanthema), defined more narrowly. Under this veins, rubellas, chickenpoxes, scarlet fever and the three day fever fall. Also mumps and the poliomyelitis have your age peak in this phase of life.

In connection with infectious diseases many specific concepts which are explained briefly here fall.

An infectious disease is characterized by different features. It is distinguished after:

  • Course: The classification is that means the infection appears without, with symptoms which are light or minted carried out after appearance of the symptoms into a silent one, abortive or manifest infection.
  • Admission gate of the causative agent: The microorganism enters parenteral or percutaneous (about the skin), per-mucously > inhalation infections, enteral (about the intestine) or about a wound (about the mucosas).
  • Transferability of the causative agent: The shoots turn man for example as a droplet infection (scarlet fever, veins, chickenpoxes, whooping coughs), contact infection as a fecal oral smear infection (polio) or transplacentally (on the way about the placenta), (rubellas, toxoplasmosis) transfer directly of man. There also are infection ways over intermediate hosts or informer.
  • Temporal sequence of the disease appearances: Here symptom is distinguished in foudroyant (the rapid beginning, the heaviest course, often deadly), chronic (the gradual beginning, lightly feverish course over weeks, months and years), relapsing (appearing repeated), latent, (loose phases about months until years, acute (the sudden beginning, feverish course over days)).


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