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Infectiologist
The work of an infectiologist
Doctors who specialise in the medical treatment of infectious disease
are called infectiologist or infectious disease specialist. Generally,
infections are diagnosed by primary care physicians or internal
medicine specialists. For example, an "uncomplicated" pneumonia will
generally be treated by the internist or the pulmologist (lung
physician).
The services of the infectious disease team are generally only called
when:
- The patient is immunocompromised (for
example, in
AIDS or after chemotherapy);
- The infectious agent is of uncommon
nature (e.g.
tropical diseases);
- The disease has not responded to "normal"
antibiotics;
- The disease might be dangerous to other
patients,
and the patient might have be isolated.
The work of the infectiologist therefore entails working with patients
and doctors on one hand and laboratory scientists and immunologistss on
the other hand.
History
Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) invented microscopy. During his
experiments he described microscopic life.
Louis Pasteur proved beyond doubt that certain diseases can be caused
by infectious agents.
Robert Koch, mentioned above, gave infectious disease a scientific
basis by formulating Koch's postulates.
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BACTERIAL
INFECTION
This
type of food borne illness occur when the food
eaten is contaminated with living pathogenic bacteria.
The
amount and
type of bacteria will determine the time for symptoms to appear. The
bacteria will pass through your stomach and down into your lover
intestine. It will embed themselves in the wall of the intestine and it
will multiply.
Bacterial
infection most often cause diarrhea (sometimes
bloody), stomach cramps and fever. More...
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INFECTION
An
infection is, in effect, a war in which the infecting organism seeks to
utilize the host resources in order to multiply at the expense of the
host.
The difference between an infection and a colonization is often only a
matter of circumstance. Organisms which are normally non-pathogenic can
become pathogenic under the right conditions, and even the most
virulent organism requires certain circumstances to cause a
compromising infection. More... |
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