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INFECTIOUS AGENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An agent capable of producing infection
Synonyms:
infectious agent; infective agent
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("infectious agent" is a kind of...):
agent (an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "infectious agent"):
virus ((virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein)
pathogen (any disease-producing agent (especially a virus or bacterium or other microorganism))
Context examples:
Substances that prevent infectious agents or organisms from spreading or kill infectious agents in order to prevent the spread of infection.
(Anti-Infective Agent, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
In the production of an attenuated vaccine, the infectious agent is altered so that it becomes harmless or less virulent.
(Attenuated Bacteria Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)
All methods of preventing cancer including limit of exposure to carcinogens and infectious agents, diet, education, etc
(Cancer Prevention, NCI Thesaurus)
With intensive care, the child survived numerous bouts of severe illness, and her health improved as her immune system matured and formed protective antibodies against various infectious agents.
(Scientists discover rare genetic susceptibility to common cold, National Institutes of Health)
Exposure from touching an object, person, or body substance contaminated with a suspected or confirmed infectious agent.
(Physical Contagion Contact, NCI Thesaurus)
An inflammatory lung disease characterized by diffuse interstitial pneumonitis and alveolitis leading to interstitial fibrosis in the absence of an identifiable infectious agent.
(Idiopathic pneumonia syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
Infectious agents, which while normally present but remaining benign under the control of the immune system, become virulent and pathogenic in immune-compromised hosts (i.e when they get the opportunity to become infectious).
(Agents of Opportunistic Infection, NCI Thesaurus)
Red discoloration of the skin caused by infectious agents, drug hypersensitivity, or underlying diseases.
(Erythema, NCI Thesaurus)
Research areas of special interest include genetic predisposition, lifestyle factors, environmental contaminants, occupational exposures, medications, radiation and infectious agents, as well as statistics and methods development.
(Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI Thesaurus)
The Resource implements methods that allow maximal retention of animals when an infectious agent is detected in a barrier room.
(Barrier Animal Facility Shared Resource, NCI Thesaurus)
