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Infestation
Infestation is the state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. It can also refer to the actual organisms living on or within a host. Terminology In general, the term "infestation" refers to parasitic diseases caused by animals such as arthropods (i.e. mites, ticks, and lice) and worms, but excluding (except) conditions caused by protozoa, fungi, bacteria, and viruses, which are called infections. External and internal Infestations can be classified as either external or internal with regards to the parasites' location in relation to the host. External or ectoparasitic infestation is a condition in which organisms live primarily on the surface of the host (though porocephaliasis can penetrate viscerally) and includes those involving mites, ticks, head lice and bed bugs. An internal (or endoparasitic) infestation is a condition in which organisms live within the host and includes those involving worms (though swimmer's itch stays near the surface). Medically, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Head-louse Infestation
Head lice infestation, also known as pediculosis capitis, is the infection of the head hair and scalp by the head louse (''Pediculus humanus capitis''). Itching from lice bites is common. During a person's first infection, the itch may not develop for up to six weeks. If a person is infected again, symptoms may begin much more quickly. The itch may cause problems with sleeping. Generally, however, it is not a serious condition. While head lice appear to spread some other diseases in Africa, they do not appear to do so in Europe or North America. Head lice are spread by direct contact with the hair of someone who is infected. The cause of head lice infestations in children is not related to cleanliness. Other animals, such as cats and dogs, do not play a role in transmission. Head lice feed only on human blood and are only able to survive on human head hair. When adults, they are about 2 to 3 mm long. When not attached to a human, they are unable to live beyond three da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pest (organism)
A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environment for their own purposes and are intolerant of other creatures occupying the same space when their activities impact adversely on human objectives. Thus, an elephant is unobjectionable in its natural habitat but a pest when it tramples crops. Some animals are disliked because they bite or sting; snakes, wasps, ants, bed bugs, fleas and ticks belong in this category. Others enter the home; these include houseflies, which land on and contaminate food, beetles, which tunnel into the woodwork, and other animals that scuttle about on the floor at night, like cockroaches, which are often associated with unsanitary conditions. Agricultural and horticultural crops are attacked by a wide variety of pests, the most important being insects, mites ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tick Infestation
Ticks are insects known for attaching to and sucking blood from land-dwelling animals (specifically vertebrates). Ticks fall under the category of 'arthropod', and while they are often thought of in the context of disease transmission, they are also known to cause direct harm to hosts through bites, toxin release, and infestation. Infestation can cause symptoms ranging from mild to severe and may even cause death. Hosts can include any number of vertebrates, though humans and livestock are more likely to be the interest of researchers. Overview There are two main categories of tick; soft ticks (''family Argasidae'') and hard ticks (family Ixodidae). A third tick family named Nuttalliellidae also exists, though is less commonly discussed. The primary distinction between soft and hard ticks is the amount of time they stay attached to their host. Soft ticks remain attached on the order of a couple hours and may take multiple blood meals from the same host. Hard ticks on the other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parasite
Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has characterised parasites as "predators that eat prey in units of less than one". Parasites include single-celled protozoans such as the agents of malaria, sleeping sickness, and amoebic dysentery; animals such as hookworms, lice, mosquitoes, and vampire bats; fungi such as Armillaria mellea, honey fungus and the agents of ringworm; and plants such as mistletoe, dodder, and the Orobanchaceae, broomrapes. There are six major parasitic Behavioral ecology#Evolutionarily stable strategy, strategies of exploitation of animal hosts, namely parasitic castration, directly transmitted parasitism (by contact), wikt:trophic, trophicallytransmitted parasitism (by being eaten), Disease vector, vector-transmitted paras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endoparasite
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has characterised parasites as "predators that eat prey in units of less than one". Parasites include single-celled protozoans such as the agents of malaria, sleeping sickness, and amoebic dysentery; animals such as hookworms, lice, mosquitoes, and vampire bats; fungi such as honey fungus and the agents of ringworm; and plants such as mistletoe, dodder, and the broomrapes. There are six major parasitic strategies of exploitation of animal hosts, namely parasitic castration, directly transmitted parasitism (by contact), trophicallytransmitted parasitism (by being eaten), vector-transmitted parasitism, parasitoidism, and micropredation. One major axis of classification concerns invasiveness: an endoparasite lives inside the host's body; an ect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infectious Disease (medical Speciality)
Infectious diseases or ID, also known as infectiology, is a medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of infections. An infectious diseases specialist's practice consists of managing nosocomial ( healthcare-acquired) infections or community-acquired infections and is historically associated with hygiene, epidemiology, clinical microbiology, travel medicine and tropical medicine. Scope Infectious diseases specialists typically serve as consultants to other physicians in cases of complex infections, and often manage patients with HIV/AIDS and other forms of immunodeficiency. Although many common infections are treated by physicians without formal expertise in infectious diseases, specialists may be consulted for cases where an infection is difficult to diagnose or manage. They may also be asked to help determine the cause of a fever of unknown origin. Specialists in infectious diseases can practice both in hospitals (inpatient) and clinics (outpatient). In hospi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swimmer's Itch
Swimmer's itch, cercarial dermatitis or schistosome dermatitis is a short-term allergic contact dermatitis occurring in the skin of humans that have been infected by water-borne schistosomes, a type of flatworm. It is common in freshwater, brackish and marine habitats worldwide. The incidence of this condition may be increasing, although this may be attributed to better monitoring and reporting. Nevertheless, the condition is considered to be an emerging infectious disease. The main symptom is itchy papules (raised skin) that commonly occur within 2 days of infection. Initially, wheals develop quickly, then turn into maculae in about half an hour. Within 10–12 hours these turn into very itchy papules that reach their worst by the second or third day. The papules disappear in 1–2 weeks but secondary effects from scratching can continue longer. The intense itching, which peaks after 48–72 hours, is associated with pain and swelling of the affected areas. People repeatedly exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bed Bug (insect)
''Cimex'' is a genus of insects in the family Cimicidae. ''Cimex'' species are ectoparasites that typically feed on the blood of birds and mammals. Two species, '' Cimex lectularius'' and '' Cimex hemipterus'', are known as bed bugs and frequently feed on humans, although other species may parasitize humans opportunistically. Species that primarily parasitize bats are known as bat bugs. The insects are long and have flattened reddish-brown bodies with small nonfunctional wings. Description Adult ''Cimex'' are light brown to reddish-brown, flat and oval. The mouthparts are beak-like, and adapted for piercing and sucking. Following a blood meal the abdomen is plump and darker in colour. The front wings are vestigial and reduced to pad-like structures and there are no hind wings. ''Cimex'' have segmented abdomens with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to long. The different species are very similar in morphology and can only be separated by m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porocephaliasis
Porocephaliasis is a condition associated with species in the closely related genera '' Porocephalus'' and ''Armillifer''. (The term "pentastomiasis" encompasses all diseases of Pentastomida, which includes porocephaliasis and linguatulosis.) Porocephaliasis is associated with contact with snakes. (This is in contrast with linguatulosis, which is associated with contact with dogs or wolves.) It has been reported from Africa, Malaysia and the Middle East. Its occurrence has been rare in Europe and North America where it has been found in immigrants and travelers. Transmission and presentation It is prevalent in parts of Africa and Asia where eating snake meat is common. In Africa it has also been associated with groups who use the snake as a totem. Unlike linguatuliasis, humans are only ever an accidental intermediate host for ''Armillifer'', i.e. the larvae establish themselves in the visceral organs causing human visceral pentastomiasis, but adults do not occur in the human resp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ectoparasitic Infestation
An ectoparasitic infestation is a parasitic disease caused by organisms that live primarily on the surface of the host. Examples: * Scabies * Crab louse (pubic lice) * Pediculosis (head lice) * '' Lernaeocera branchialis'' (cod worm) See also * Ectoparasiticide An ectoparasiticide is an antiparasitic drug used in the treatment of ectoparasitic infestations. These drugs are used to kill the parasites that live on the body surface. Permethrin, sulfur, lindane, dicophane, benzyl benzoate, ivermectin ... References External links Parasitism Ectoparasites {{Infectious-disease-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infection
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable disease, is an illness resulting from an infection. Infections can be caused by a wide range of pathogens, most prominently bacteria and viruses. Hosts can fight infections using their immune system. Mammalian hosts react to infections with an innate response, often involving inflammation, followed by an adaptive response. Specific medications used to treat infections include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, antiprotozoals, and antihelminthics. Infectious diseases resulted in 9.2 million deaths in 2013 (about 17% of all deaths). The branch of medicine that focuses on infections is referred to as infectious disease. Types Infections are caused by infectious agents ( pathogens) including: * Bacteria (e.g. ''Mycobacterium tube ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virus
A virus is a wikt:submicroscopic, submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1892 article describing a non-bacterial pathogen infecting tobacco plants and the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898,Dimmock p. 4 more than 9,000 virus species have been described in detail of the millions of types of viruses in the environment. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most numerous type of biological entity. The study of viruses is known as virology, a subspeciality of microbiology. When infected, a host cell is often forced to rapidly produce thousands of copies of the original virus. When not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent particles, or ''virions'', consisti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
