Deadly Diseases

Contact Transmission

Transmission of an infectious agent by direct contact of the source or its reservoir with the host.

Airborne Transmission

Transmission of an infectious organism in which the organism is truly suspended in the air and travels a meter or more from the source to the host.

Arenavirus

Type of RNA virus.

Diphtheria

Acute, highly contagious childhood disease caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacteria.

Common Cold

Acute, self-limiting, and highly contagious viral infection of the upper respiratory tract.

Antibacterial

Agent that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth.

Bactericide

Agent that kills bacteria.

Antimicrobial Agent

Agent that kills or inhibits the growth of the microorganisms

Disinfectant

Agent that kills, inhibits, or removes microorganisms that may cause disease.

Amphotericin B

Antibiotic used to treat systemic fungal infections and also used topically to treat candidiasis.

Antitoxin

Antibody to a microbial toxin. Binds specifically with the toxin, neutralizing it.

Amantadine

Antiviral compound sometimes used to treat influenza type A infections.

Binary Fission

Asexual reproduction in wich a cell seperates into two cells.

Coccus

Bacterium that is roughly spherical in shape.

Antiseptic

Chemical applied to tissue to prevent infection by killing or inhibiting the growth of pathogens.

Broad-Spectrum drug

Chemotherapeutic agent that is effective across a wide range of different types of pathogens.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Chronic, progressive, fatal disease of the central nervous system caused by a prion

Chemotherapeutic Agent

Compound used in the treatment f disease that kills or inhibits the growth or microorganisms so at concentrations low enough to avoid doing damage to the host.

Communicable Disease

Disease associated with an agent that can be transmitted from one host to another.

Biologic Transmission

Disease transmission in which an infectious organism undergoes some morphologic or physiologic change during its passage through the vector.

Antigen

Foreign (non self) substance to which lymphocytes respond.

Botulism

Form of food poisioning caused by a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium Botulinum.

Conjugation

Form of gene transfer and recombination in bacteria that requires direct cell-to-cell contact.

Antibody

Glycoprotein produce in response to an antigen.

Complement System

Group of circulating plasma proteins that plays a major role in an animal's immune response.

Chicken Pox

Highly contagious skin disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus.

Compromised Host

Host with lowered resistance to infection and disease for any reason.

Cell-Meditated Immunity

Immunity that results from T-cells contacting foreign or infected cells and destroying them.

Antibody-Meditated Immunity

Immunity that results from the presence of antibodies in blood and lymph.

Carrier

Infected individual who is a potential source of infection for other people.

Candidiasis

Infection caused by a fungus of the genus Candida. Typically involves the skin.

Autogenous Infection

Infection that results from a patient's own microflora.

Amebiasis

Infection with amoebas.

Cholera

Infectious disease caused by the Vibrio Cholerae bacteria.

Anthrax

Infectious disease of animals caused by ingesting the spores of Bacillus Anthracis. Can occur in humans.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Infectious disease syndrome that is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus.

B-Cell

Lymphocyte derived from bone marrow stem cells that matures into an immunologically competent cell under the influence of bone marrow.

Antibiotic

Microbial product, or its deriative, that kills or inhibits the growth of susceptible microorganisms.

Anaerobe

Organism that can grow in the absence of atmospheric oxygen.

Aerobe

Organism that can grow in the presence of atmospheric oxygen.

Conjugative Plasmid

Plasmid that carries the genes for sex pili and can transfer copies of itself to other bacteria during conjugation.

Bacillus

Rod-shaped bacterium.

Acquired Immunity

Specific immunity that develops after exposure to a particular antigen or after antibodies are transferred from one individual to another

Allergen

Substance that can induce an allergic reaction or specific susceptibility.

Acyclovir

Synthetic drug with antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus.