Introduction to Infection

The infection can be explained as the invasion and growing of germs in the human body. These germs can include yeast, fungi, bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms. Infections can start from any organ in the body and may spread rapidly throughout the body. Infection can result in fever and other health issues mainly depend on where it happens in the body. When the immune system of the body is strong, it can help to fight the germs and cure an infection. Some of the times, the treatment of cancer can weaken the immune system of the body, which usually lead to infection. The microorganism in the body uses that person’s body to withstand itself, reproduce, and colonize among the various parts. These infectious microscopic organisms are called pathogens, and they multiply quickly. Examples of pathogens may incorporate include bacteria, viruses and fungi.

The research claims that these pathogens spread in the body in several manners, mainly through the transfer of bodily fluids, contact with faeces, consuming contaminated food or water, skin interaction, breathe in airborne particles or droplets and contacting with an object that a person carrying the pathogen has also contacted. The immune system of the body is considered as an effective barrier against these transferrable agents. Most of the times, the pathogens present in the body may overwhelm the immune system’s capability to fight them off. At this stage, an infection becomes harmful.

Some pathogens in the body carry very little effect. While others produce poisons or inflammatory substances that activate negative responses from the body. This difference gives the understanding that some infections in the body are slight and hardly observable, while others can be extreme and life-threatening. Some pathogens in the body are unaffected to the treatment. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are various types of pathogens. They differ in several ways such as; size, shape, function, and genetic content.

Viral infections

Viral infections take place due to infection with a virus. The research claims that there are millions of different viruses exist, but researchers have only discovered about 5,000 types to now. Viruses comprise of a small piece of genetic code and a layer of protein and lipid (fat) molecules that actually guards them. Viruses attack a host and links themselves with a cell. As they enter into the cell, they issue their genetic material. This material forces the cell to duplicate the virus, and the virus multiplies. In addition to that, when the cell expires, it issues new viruses, that contaminate new cells.

It is important to note that not all viruses impact their host cell. Some of them change the function of the cell. Some viruses, that include human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), can result in cancer by forcing cells to duplicate in an unrestrained manner.

Bacterial Infection

Bacteria are microscopic, single-cell organisms that are present almost everywhere. Bacteria can sustain in every climate and location on the surface of Earth. Some of the bacteria are flying while others survive in water or soil. Bacteria are also present on and inside plants, animals, and people. The term “bacteria” has a negative meaning, but bacteria actually perform many important functions for organisms and in the atmosphere.

For instance, plants need bacteria in the soil to grow faster. The wide majority of bacteria are inoffensive to people and some strains are even helpful. In the human gastrointestinal tract, good bacteria help in digestion and produce vitamins. They also assist with protection, making the body less hospitable to bad bacteria and other harmful pathogens through strong immune. If considering the strains of all the bacteria that survive on the earth, there may be relatively few that are capable of infecting people and making them sick.

Bacteria that can enter our bodies and cause a bacterial infection may such as strep throat, bacterial urinary tract infections (UTIs), often caused by coliform bacteria, bacterial food poisoning, often caused by shigella, bacterial cellulitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), bacterial vaginosis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis, Clostridium difficile, tuberculosis, whooping cough, pneumococcal pneumonia, bacterial meningitis, Lyme disease, cholera, botulism, tetanus, and anthrax.

Fungal infections

Fungi are considered as an addition diverse set of organisms that incorporate elements like yeasts and moulds. They are present all over the environment, such as the soil, indoors in moist parts like bathrooms, and on or inside the human bodies.

Most of the times, fungi are so tiny that cannot be seen with the naked eye. However, one can see them when mould is observed on the tile of the bathroom. It is important to note that not all fungi can cause illness, however, some examples of fungal infections incorporate vaginal yeast infections, ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush, aspergillosis, histoplasmosis, cryptococcus infection, and fungal meningitis.

Parasites

Parasites are organisms that are dependent on other organisms or hosts for their living. Some parasites do not impact their hosts noticeably. While some grow, reproduce, or invade organ systems of the body that result in illness of the hosts, and then eventually in parasitic infection. Parasitic infections are considered as the core problems in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. Malaria is believed to be one of the deadliest parasitic diseases. Parasitic infections also occur in different parts of the United States. Common parasitic infections that are found in the United States are trichomoniasis, toxoplasmosis, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis.

Antibodies

Viruses can also be eliminated from the body with the help of antibodies prior they get the opportunity to contaminate a cell. Antibodies are basically proteins that particularly recognize invading pathogens and then get attached to them. The attachment of these antibodies results in the purpose of eradication of the virus. Initially, the antibodies neutralize the virus, which means that now the virus is no longer strong enough to infect the host cell. After that, many antibodies are accumulated together and react against the viruses. The process is termed as agglutination. Then, there is a third mechanism that is utilized by antibodies to eliminate viruses by the activation of phagocytes.

A virus-bound antibody binds to receptors, called Fc receptors, on the surface of phagocytic cells and activates a mechanism known as phagocytosis, by which the cell overwhelms and finishes the virus.
Lastly, the antibodies can also trigger the complement system, which opsonizes and encourages the phagocytosis of viruses. Complement can also harm the envelope (phospholipid bilayer) that exists on some kinds of viruses.