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If a true outbreak is discovered, infection control practitioners try to determine what permitted the outbreak to occur, and to rearrange the conditions to prevent ongoing propagation of the infection. Often, breaches in good practice are responsible, although sometimes other factors (such as construction) may be the source of the problem.
Other cells in the respiratory tract also produce superoxide and hydrogen peroxide through the activity of dual oxidase 2 proteins, also known as Duox2. [6] [7] The superoxide generated by these enzymes complexes dismutates into hydrogen peroxide which in turn is used by myeloperoxidase to produce bactericidal hypochlorous acid. [8]
Bacteria and fungi typically enter the lungs by inhalation of water droplets, although they can reach the lung through the bloodstream if an infection is present. In the alveoli, bacteria and fungi travel into the spaces between cells and adjacent alveoli through connecting pores.
Bacteria can also spread via the blood. [25] Once in the lungs, bacteria may invade the spaces between cells and between alveoli, where the macrophages and neutrophils (defensive white blood cells) attempt to inactivate the bacteria. [57] The neutrophils also release cytokines, causing a general activation of the immune system. [58]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to concepts related to infectious diseases in humans.. Infection – transmission, entry/invasion after evading/overcoming defense, establishment, and replication of disease-causing microscopic organisms (pathogens) inside a host organism, and the reaction of host tissues to them and to the toxins they produce.
Transmission-based precautions are infection-control precautions in health care, in addition to the so-called "standard precautions". They are the latest routine infection prevention and control practices applied for patients who are known or suspected to be infected or colonized with infectious agents, including certain epidemiologically important pathogens, which require additional control ...
An infection of this type usually is further classified as an upper respiratory tract infection (URI or URTI) or a lower respiratory tract infection (LRI or LRTI). Lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, tend to be far more severe than upper respiratory infections, such as the common cold.
Pulmonology (/ ˌ p ʌ l m ə ˈ n ɒ l ə dʒ i /, / ˌ p ʊ l m ə ˈ n ɒ l ə dʒ i /, from Latin pulmō, -ōnis "lung" and the Greek suffix -λογία-logía "study of"), pneumology (/ n ʊ ˈ m ɒ l ə dʒ i, n j ʊ-/, built on Greek πνεύμων pneúmōn "lung") or pneumonology [1] (/ n ʊ m ə n ˈ ɒ l ə dʒ i, n j ʊ-/) is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving ...