Infections - Merck Manuals Consumer Version

Biology of Infectious Disease

Microorganisms are tiny living creatures, such as bacteria and viruses. Microorganisms are present everywhere. Despite their overwhelming abundance, relatively few of the thousands of species of microorganisms invade, multiply, and cause disease in people.
Diagnosis of Infectious Disease

Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
- Diagnosis of Infectious Disease
Antibiotics

Antibiotics are drugs used to treat bacterial infections. They are not effective against viral infections and most other infections. Antibiotics either kill bacteria or stop them from reproducing, allowing the body's natural defenses to eliminate them.
Arboviruses, Arenaviruses, Filoviruses

Arbovirus, arenavirus, and filovirus are viruses that are spread from animals to people and, with some viruses, from people to people. The animal involved depends on the type of virus.
Bacteremia, Sepsis, and Septic Shock

Bacteremia, sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock are related:
Bacterial Infections: Overview

Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled organisms. They are among the earliest known life forms on earth. There are thousands of different kinds of bacteria, and they live in every conceivable environment all over the world. They live in soil, seawater, and deep within the earth’s crust. Some bacteria have been reported even to live in radioactive waste. Many bacteria live on and in the bodies of people and animals—on the skin and in the airways, mouth, and digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts—without causing any harm. Such bacteria are called resident flora, or the microbiome. There are at least as many bacteria in our resident flora as there are cells in the body. Many resident flora are actually helpful to people—for example, by helping them digest food or by preventing the growth of other, more dangerous bacteria.
- Overview of Bacteria
Bacterial Infections: Anaerobic Bacteria

Bacteria can be classified in several different ways. One way is based on their need for oxygen—whether they need oxygen to live and grow:
Bacterial Infections: Gram-Negative Bacteria

Bacteria are classified by how they appear under the microscope and by other features. Gram-negative bacteria are classified by the color they turn after a chemical process called Gram staining is used on them. Gram-negative bacteria stain red when this process is used. Gram-positive bacteria stain blue. Gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria stain differently because their cell walls are different. They also cause different types of infections, and different types of antibiotics are effective against them.
Bacterial Infections: Gram-Positive Bacteria

Gram-positive bacteria are classified by the color they turn after a chemical called Gram stain is applied to them. Gram-positive bacteria stain blue when this stain is applied to them. (Other bacteria stain red. They are called gram-negative.)
Bacterial Infections: Spirochetes

Bejel, yaws (frambesia), and pinta are infections caused by Treponema, which are spiral-shaped bacteria called spirochetes.
Chlamydial Infections and Mycoplasmas

Chlamydia are bacteria that cause disease in humans, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and infections of the eyes and respiratory tract.
- Chlamydial Infections
- Mycoplasmas
COVID-19

COVID-19 is an acute respiratory illness that can be severe and is caused by the coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2.
- COVID-19
Enteroviruses

Enterovirus infections affect many parts of the body and may be caused by any of several different strains of enterovirus.
Fungal Infections

Fungi are neither plants nor animals. They were once thought to be plants but are now classified as their own kingdom. Some fungi cause infections in people.
Herpesvirus Infections

Some common viral infections are caused by herpesviruses. Eight different herpesviruses infect people:
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a viral infection that progressively destroys certain white blood cells and is treated with antiretroviral medications. If untreated, it can cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection
- Antiretroviral Treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection
Immunization

Immunization (vaccination) helps the body defend itself against diseases caused by certain bacteria or viruses.
Meningococcal Infections

Meningococcal infections are caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis (meningococci) and include meningitis and sepsis.
- Meningococcal Infections
Parasitic Infections: An Overview

A parasite is an organism that lives on or inside another organism (the host) and benefits (for example, by getting nutrients) from the host at the host's expense. Although this definition actually applies to many microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, doctors use the term "parasites" to refer to
- Overview of Parasitic Infections
Parasitic Infections: Cestodes (Tapeworms)

Echinococcosis is caused by the dog tapeworms Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus multilocularis. In people, the tapeworms can cause fluid-filled cysts or masses to form in the liver or other organs.
- Echinococcosis (Dog Tapeworm Infection)
- Tapeworm Infection
Parasitic Infections: Extraintestinal Protozoa

Human African sleeping sickness is an infection caused by the protozoa Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. It is transmitted by the bite of a tsetse fly.
Parasitic Infections: Intestinal Protozoa and Microsporidia

Amebiasis is an infection of the large intestine and sometimes the liver and other organs that is caused by the single-celled protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica, an ameba.
Parasitic Infections: Nematodes (Roundworms)

Ascariasis is infection caused by Ascaris lumbricoides, an intestinal roundworm, or occasionally by Ascaris suum (which causes ascariasis in pigs).
Parasitic Infections: Trematodes (Flukes)

Flukes are parasitic flatworms. There are many species of fluke. Different species tend to infect different parts of the body.
Pox Viruses

Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus, which is related to the smallpox virus and causes a similar, but usually milder, illness.
- Mpox (Monkeypox)
- Smallpox
Respiratory Viruses

Bird flu is a viral infection with strains of influenza virus that normally occur in wild birds and domestic poultry.
Rickettsial and Related Infections

Rickettsial infections and related infections (such as anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and Q fever) are caused by an unusual type of bacteria that can live only inside the cells of another organism.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) refers to an infection that is passed through blood, semen, vaginal fluids, or other body fluids during oral, anal, or genital sex with an infected partner. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) refers to a disease that has developed from an STI.
Tuberculosis and Related Infections

Tuberculosis is a chronic contagious infection caused by the airborne bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It usually affects the lungs, but almost any organ can be involved.
Overview of Viral Infections

A virus is composed of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat. It requires a living cell in which to multiply. A viral infection can lead to a spectrum of symptoms from asymptomatic (no overt symptoms) to severe disease.
- Overview of Viral Infections