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| An '''infectious disease''' is caused by a [[pathogen|pathogenic living organism]]. While all [[contagious disease]]s are infectious, not all infectious diseases are contagious from a host of one species to a host of another. [[Koch's postulates]] are the basis of categorizing diseases as infectious.
| | '''Infectious diseases''' are illnesses caused by germs which have entered the body. |
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| Contagion may need to occur through an intermediate [[vector (biological)]]: unless there is direct blood-to-blood contact, for example, [[malaria]] is not contagious between humans. Malaria is transmitted when a mosquito bites an infected host, and, in biting an uninfected host, transfers infected blood.
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| ==Usage as a specialty==
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| An '''infectious disease physician''' is an [[internist]] who has specialized in the study and treatment of infectious diseases. The specialty can be considered the intersection of [[internal medicine]] and [[microbiology]]. Such a physician focuses on the disease in individuals, and not necessarily the disease in a larger population.
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| '''Infectious disease epidemiology''' is the subset of [[epidemiology]] that deals with the [[etiology]], [[morbidity]] and [[mortality]] of infectious disease, but not necessarily the treatment of the disease.
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Latest revision as of 13:05, 30 March 2024
Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by germs which have entered the body.
