Description

What are Infectious Diseases? Infectious diseases have always competed with humanity to stay one hand up. Infectious diseases are caused by various microorganisms like viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, which are directly or indirectly transmitted to humans. The impact of infections can be on a whole human race and is well evident in history. Examples include HIV AIDS pandemic in the 1980s’ H1N1 epidemic 2009, Ebola in West Africa in 2015, and Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala in April 2018. Despite the success made through in last two centuries in strengthening the armamentarium against various infectious agents, the infectious diseases still rank among top 10 causes of death worldwide. Antibiotic resistance, changing human demographics and behaviour, International travel and commerce, improper public health measures are prime reasons for emerging and reemerging of infectious diseases. Additionally use of immune supressing medicines for transplant recipients, and patients suffering from cancer, pose an important risk for developing rare infections