Mortality and morbidity rates for infectious diseases vary greatly by geographical location. World Health Organization (WHO) statistics provide striking documentation that deaths due to infectious diseases are much higher in poor countries than in the countries with the highest income levels. It is particularly striking that malaria and tuberculosis are significant causes of death in low-resource countries, whereas these diseases are rarely fatal in wealthy countries. Other infectious diseases that significantly cause death in low-resource countries are pneumonia, diarrhea, and HIV infection. The top ten causes of death in lower and middle-resource countries In lower and middle-resource countries also include lower respiratory infections, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases.
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> 1. Define infection and identify the differences between colonization and infection, giving specific examples of each.
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> 2. How does infection start, and what is the usual course?
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> 3. What factors influence the course of an infection? Give specific examples of different trajectories of infection.
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> Requirements: 500
Answer preview
Some of the factors include the ability of the infectious agent to cause disease. For instance, the ability of clostridioides difficile bacteria to cause inflammation of the colon. Another factor is the source of the infection (the environment) and the exposure of the host to this source (CDC, 2021). For example, when an individual is exposed to another person with the flu, from their coughs, talk, or sneeze, they may be infected. Similarly, the mode of transmission also influences the course of the infection as this determines how fast the pathogens will enter the body. The susceptibility of the host to the infection also influences the course of infection since if the host is vulnerable then the infection will severely affect the individual.
