Aspects of the interrelationship between the infected host and the pathogenic agent

The severity of an infection is related to the disequilibrium in the complex relationship between the infected host and the pathogenic agent. The bacterial factors include the size of the inoculum, the pathogenicity and particular virulence of certain strains which, because of their antigenic struct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnales de biologie clinique (Paris) Vol. 41; no. 6; p. 397
Main Author Clumeck, N
Format Journal Article
LanguageFrench
Published France 1983
Subjects
Antibodies, Bacterial - immunology
Bacterial Infections - immunology
Bacterial Infections - microbiology
Gram-Negative Bacteria - pathogenicity
Gram-Positive Bacteria - pathogenicity
Humans
Sepsis - physiopathology
Virulence
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Summary:The severity of an infection is related to the disequilibrium in the complex relationship between the infected host and the pathogenic agent. The bacterial factors include the size of the inoculum, the pathogenicity and particular virulence of certain strains which, because of their antigenic structures (capsular antigen, lipopolysaccharide, exotoxins), may escape the bactericidal defence mechanisms of the serum, phagocytosis and intracellular bacterial destruction. The principal host factor, which also determines the prognosis of the infection, is the subject's immune status which can be affected in its non-specific elements (complement system) and in its specific elements (humoral and cellular immunity). Thus, in the normal host, only extremely virulent bacteria are capable of causing severe infections, while in the immunodepressed patient, even non-pathogenic organisms which are usually commensual are capable of being invasive.
ISSN:0003-3898