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Opportunistic infection

 

 
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Opportunistic infection
 
 
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An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by pathogen
Pathogen

A pathogen , infectious agent, or germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its Host .There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring...
s that usually do not cause disease in a healthy immune system
Immune system

An immune system is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells....
. A compromised immune system
Immunodeficiency

Immunodeficiency is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases of immunodeficiency are acquired but some people are born with defects in the immune system, or primary immunodeficiency....
, however, presents an "opportunity" for the pathogen to infect.







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An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by pathogen
Pathogen

A pathogen , infectious agent, or germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its Host .There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring...
s that usually do not cause disease in a healthy immune system
Immune system

An immune system is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells....
. A compromised immune system
Immunodeficiency

Immunodeficiency is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases of immunodeficiency are acquired but some people are born with defects in the immune system, or primary immunodeficiency....
, however, presents an "opportunity" for the pathogen to infect.

Causes

Immunodeficiency or immunosuppression
Immunosuppression

Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions....
 can be caused by:
  • Malnutrition
    Malnutrition

    Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or inadequate diet and nutrition.According to the World Health Organization, hunger and malnutrition are the single gravest threats to the world's public health and malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all cases....
  • Recurrent infection
    Infection

    An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host resources to multiply ....
    s
  • Immunosuppressing agents
    Immunosuppressive drug

    Immunosuppressive drugs or immunosuppressive agents are medication that inhibit or prevent activity of the immune system. They are used in immunosuppression to:...
     for organ transplant
    Organ transplant

    Organ transplant is the moving of an organ from one body to another , for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site....
     recipients
  • Chemotherapy
    Chemotherapy

    Chemotherapy, in its most general sense, refers to treatment of disease by chemicals that kill cells, specifically those of micro-organisms or cancer....
     for cancer
    Cancer

    Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
  • AIDS
    AIDS

    Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV ....
     or HIV
    HIV

    Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that can lead to AIDS , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections....
    -infection
  • Genetic
    Genetics

    Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and Genetic variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding....
     predisposition
  • Skin
    Skin

    The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
     damage
  • Antibiotic
    Antibiotic

    In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics belong to the group of antimicrobial compounds used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungus and protozoa....
     treatment
  • Medical procedures
  • Pregnancy


Types of infections

These infections include:

  • Pneumocystis jirovecii
    Pneumocystis pneumonia

    Pneumocystis pneumonia is a form of pneumonia caused by the yeast-like fungus, Pneumocystis jirovecii. This species of fungus is specific to humans....
    , previously known as Pneumocystis carinii f. hominis
  • Candida albicans
    Candida albicans

    Candida albicans is a diploid fungus , which is capable of sexual reproduction but not of meiosis, and a causal agent of Opportunistic infection Wiktionary:oral and genital infections in humans....
  • Staphylococcus aureus
    Staphylococcus aureus

    Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of staph infections. It is a spherical Bacteria, frequently found in the nose and skin of a person....
  • Streptococcus pyogenes
    Streptococcus pyogenes

    'Streptococcus pyogenes' is a coccus gram-positive bacteria that grows in long chains and is the cause of Group A streptococcal infections. S....
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa
    Pseudomonas aeruginosa

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common bacterium which can cause disease in animals and humans. It is found in soil, water, and most man-made environments throughout the world....
  • Polyomavirus JC polyomavirus
    JC virus

    The JC virus or John Cunningham virus is a type of human polyomavirus and is genetically similar to BK virus and SV40. It was discovered in 1971 and named after the two initials of a patient with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy ....
    , the virus that causes Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
    Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

    Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy , also known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalitis, is a rare and usually fatal virus disease that is characterized by progressive damage or inflammation of the white matter of the brain at multiple locations ....
    .
  • Acinetobacter baumanni
  • Toxoplasma gondii
    Toxoplasma gondii

    Toxoplasma gondii is a species of parasite protozoa in the genus Toxoplasma. The definitive host of T. gondii is the cat, but the parasite can be carried by all known mammals....
  • Cytomegalovirus
    Cytomegalovirus

    Cytomegalovirus is a Virus genus of the Herpesviridae group: in humans it is commonly known as HCMV or Human Herpesvirus 5 . CMV belongs to the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily of Herpesviridae, which also includes Roseolovirus....
  • Aspergillus
    Aspergillus

    Aspergillus is a genus of around 200 molds found throughout much of nature worldwide. Aspergillus was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli....
     sp.
  • Kaposi's Sarcoma
    Kaposi's sarcoma

    Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus , also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus . It was originally described by Moritz Kaposi, a Hungarian dermatologist practicing at the University of Vienna in 1872....


Treatment

Treatment depends on the type of opportunistic infection, but usually involves different antibiotic
Antibiotic

In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics belong to the group of antimicrobial compounds used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungus and protozoa....
s.

Veterinary Treatment

Opportunistic infections caused by Feline Leukemia Virus
Feline leukemia virus

Feline leukemia virus is a retrovirus that infects cats. As a retrovirus, the genetic information of FeLV is carried by RNA instead of DNA. FeLV is usually transmitted between infected cats when the transfer of saliva or nasal secretions is involved, for example when sharing a feeding dish....
 and Feline immunodeficiency virus
Feline immunodeficiency virus

Feline immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that affects cat worldwide and is the causative agent of feline AIDS. Approximately 11% of cats worldwide, and about 2.5% of cats in the USA, are infected with FIV....
 retroviral infections can be treated with Lymphocyte T-Cell Immune Modulator
Lymphocyte T-Cell Immune Modulator

Lymphocyte T-Cell Immune Modulator is an immune regulating polypeptide manufactured by T-Cyte Therapeutics and distributed by IMULAN BioTherapeutics....
.