THE INFECTIOUS PROCESS

Overview
• Pathogen - a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease.
• Colonization - when pathogenic microbes are present in the body without causing symptomatic
infection.
• Reservoir - is the place in the environment where infectious agents live, multiply and reproduce to
they can be transmitted to a susceptible host.
- can be animate such as people, insects, animals and plants, or inanimate such as water, soil or medical
devices.

Causative Agents
• Bacteria
• Viruses
• Fungi
• Protozoa
• Helminths

Mode of Transmission
• Direct contact
- occurs through touching, biting, kissing, sexual contact or droplet spray into the eyes or on mucous
membranes while sneezing, coughing, spitting, singing or talking.

• Indirect contact
- is either vehicleborne or vectorborne
- vehicleborne transmission is the spread of an infectious organism by contact with contaminated
objects.
- vectorborne transmission is the spread of infectious organisms through a living source other than
humans

• Airborne
- particles floating in the air and remain suspended in the air for a long time, and may travel large
distances.
Chain of Infection

Reservoir
- the reservoir of an infectious agent is the habitat in which the agent normally lives, grows and
multiplies.

Portal of exit
- is the path by which a pathogen leaves its host. The portal of exit usually corresponds to the site where
the pathogen is localized.

Portal of entry
- the portal of entry refers to the manner in which a pathogen enters a susceptible host. The portal of
entry must provide access to tissues in which the pathogen can multiply or a toxin can act.

Host
- the final link in the chain of infection is a susceptible host. Susceptibility of a host depends on genetic
or constitutional factors, specific immunity, and nonspecific factors that affect an individual's ability to
resist infection or to limit pathogenicity. An individual's genetic makeup may either increase or decrease
susceptibility.

Stages of Infectious Disease

• Incubation period
- organisms growing and multiplying
• Prodromal period
- person is most, vague and nonspecific signs of disease
• Illness
- presence of specific signs and symptoms of disease
• Convalescent period
- recovery from the infection

Wound exudate
• Serous
- clear, watery plasma (mild inflammation)
• Sanguineous
- bright red (bloody or hemorrhagic)
• Serosanguineous
- mixture of above
• Purulent
- pus like (yellow, green, brown)

Local Manifestations of Inflammation

- Redness
- Heat
- Pain
- Swelling
- Loss of function

Mediators of Inflammation
- Cytokines
- Histamine
- Prostaglandins
- Bradykinin
- Leukotrienes

Impetigo
- impetigo is a common and highly contagious skin infection that mainly affects infants and children.
- an infection of the surface of the skin, caused by streptococci and streptococcus areus or both and
staphylococcus.

Impetigo Types
• Bullous Impetigo
- blisters can appear in various skin areas, especially the buttocks, though these blisters are fragile and
often break and leave red, and raw skin with a ragged edge. No prior trauma is needed for these blisters
to appear.

• Non-bullous Impetigo
- these often start around the nose and on the face, but they also may affect the arms and legs. At
times, there may be swollen glands nearby.

Symptoms
- classic signs and symptoms of impetigo involve red sores that quickly rupture, then form a yellowish-
brown crust.
- itching and soreness are generally mild.

Risk factors
- age
- crowded place
- warm weather
- certain sports
- broken skin
Complications
• Cellulitis
- This potentially serious infection affects the tissues underlying your skin and eventually may spread to
your lymph nodes and bloodstream.
• Scarring
- The ulcers associated with ecthyma can leave scars

Treatment
- antibiotic ointment or cream
- oral antibiotic drugs

Prevention
- wash hands frequently
- cut an infected child's nails short to prevent damage from scratching.
- wear gloves when applying antibiotic ointment and wash your hands thoroughly afterward.
- wash an infected person's clothes, linens and towels everyday and don't share them with anyone else
in your family.
- gently wash the affected areas with mild soap and running water and then cover lightly with gauze.