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Understanding the Infection Process

The infection process involves several stages: reservoir, transmission, adhesion, colonization, invasion, attack or damage, spreading, survival, and exit. Pathogens must navigate through these stages to successfully infect a host, utilizing various mechanisms for attachment, penetration, and evasion of the immune system. Ultimately, for an infection to be completed, the pathogen must exit the host to initiate a new cycle of infection.

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5 views11 pages

Understanding the Infection Process

The infection process involves several stages: reservoir, transmission, adhesion, colonization, invasion, attack or damage, spreading, survival, and exit. Pathogens must navigate through these stages to successfully infect a host, utilizing various mechanisms for attachment, penetration, and evasion of the immune system. Ultimately, for an infection to be completed, the pathogen must exit the host to initiate a new cycle of infection.

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Infection Process

09/04/2024
• Reservoir
• Transmission
• Adhesion
• Colonization
• Invasion
• Attack or Damage
• Spreading
• Survival
• Exit
Reservoir
• A reservoir is a place where organism live before
and after causing an infection. The reservoir is the
site or natural environmental location in which the
pathogen is normally found living and from which
the infection of the host can occur.
• Thus a reservoir sometimes functions as a source.
Reservoir can also be animate(e.g. humans or
animals) or inanimate(e.g. water , soil or food).
Transmission
• This involves transference of pathogen to the
target tissue and may take place by direct
contact with the reservoir e.g. touching, sexual
contact , insect bite , or indirectly through air ,
food and water.
Adhesion
• This is adherence of pathogens to the target
tissue(i.e. attachment) most bacterial
pathogens possess properties of attachment e.g.
Fimbriae, capsules some of them secrete
adherence factor which aid attachment to the
host surface.
Colonization
• This is when the organism grow , multiply and
establish itself on or around the target tissues
• This depend on many factors like availability
of nutrients and survival mechanism adopted
by the pathogen.
Note: Not all transmission results in colonization
Invasion
• Colonizing a surface is not enough to cause
infection. The organism must be able to break
the surface barrier of the host and penetrate
into the target tissue.
• Many pathogens produce co-enzymes like
invasins which aid penetration into the host
cell.
Attack or Damage
• Subsequent to invasion, the pathogens produce
enzymes and toxins that are destructive to the host
cells e.g. aggressins, a damage enzymes produced
by certain pathogens.
• Neurotoxins are secreted by certain bacteria
attacking the neurons tissue e.g. Clostridium tetani
.
• Impedins are able to destroy the immune system of
the host.
Spreading
• This is when the pathogen get dispersed from
the portal of entry and to other part of host
system especially in systemic infection
• Some pathogen produced Modulins which are
able to induce production of Cytokines which
help the organism to spread within the host
SURVIVAL
• The host system may attack the pathogen for example
through the immune system, therefore pathogens must
devise means of survival within the host.
• The period of survival determine the course of an
infection, whether it is acute or chronic. Only
pathogens that can survive for a long period can sustain
chronic infection.
• Resistance mechanisms play an important role in
microbial survival within the host e.g. Sore throat
(Strept throat) not able to survive more than 3-4 days
(acute)
EXIT
• For an infection to be successful and complete,
pathogen must have a means of getting out of
the host to initiate a new infection process.
• This include the ability to survive outside the
host cell e.g. boil – pus exudation, URT –
coughing and mucus discharge, these ways of
exit

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