| This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Infection article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies |
| Find medical sources: Source guidelines · PubMed · Cochrane · DOAJ · Gale · OpenMD · ScienceDirect · Springer · Trip · Wiley · TWL |
 | This  level-3 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 18 August 2020 and 9 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Bromine00.
Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignmentbyPrimeBOT (talk) 22:59, 17 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 12 August 2020 and 25 November 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Kef283.
Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignmentbyPrimeBOT (talk) 00:29, 17 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I reached this page from a link to "infected wound" and found little relevant information. I think information related to infections acquired from open wound should be added to this page, or an article should be created for this topic. Threepenpals (talk) 00:09, 8 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The general definition of infection and whatnot is all well and good, but shouldn't this also include information in the context that you can get an infection? I could contribute a picture or two :D theanphibian 03:45, 14 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Is poop supposed to be in the pathogen list? --128.12.38.211 10:38, 4 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Line 1 says an infection is caused by an ORGANISM. Viruses are not generally considered organisms. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.241.46.221 (talk) 02:03, 16 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I've put up an entry in Wiktionary, Wiktionary:Infection that contains only a {{Wikipedia}} link-box leading to this article (the meaning of this template is completely different between the Wiktionary and Wikipedia name spaces). That is definitely not a good way to fill Wiktionary, but will suffice for now.
Courtland 03:00, 2005 Apr 5 (UTC)
Babylon 5? Please. Fanboys are the bane of the wiki.
I'm for removing the disambiguation link from the article because it mentions the title of only one out of 110 episodes of Babylon 5. I'd consider it useful if it was the title of a whole tv series / movie / ... . I saw that there's a whole article about that episode (about each episode to be accurate), so I see that it might make sense to keep the link. But, as you can read in Wikipedia:Disambiguation: Ask yourself: When a reader enters this term and pushes "Go", what article would they realistically be expecting to view as a result? I don't think anyone would expect to find an article about a Babylon 5 epsiode when entering infection. Anyone who wants to know something about the episode will go to the Babylon 5 article first. --Tim81 10:13, 17 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I removed the link that was just to a riddiculous book that you could buy on 'protecting your family from infection'
I do not see why there is a link to the wiki page for this band. They're good but they're not bactria or the like.
172.142.194.246 18:11, 12 January 2007 (UTC)supersonicjim[reply]
Surgical site infections are not mentioned. More people should be made aware of them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sdogg04 (talk • contribs) 03:18, 7 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]
What is a Bacterial Infection? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.26.220.151 (talk) 12:14, 17 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Is the sentence describing the types of pathogens that can cause an infection really necessary? I would have thought that job is served by an internal link to the article on pathogens? Emble64 (talk) 17:17, 15 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I've just made quite a few changes to the organisation of the article, correcting some grammar and streamlining some sentences along the way. It was quite bitty and things had been repeated in multiple parts. Larger sections had also become disjointed. Hopefully it flows better now - do make alterations if I've done anything inappropriate. I found it helpful to organise things centrally around the infection stages - anyone got a diagram that shows this clearly? Other work is still needed. I question whether the examples of infection are really needed - there are already pages devoted to each of these. If they are particularly impoertant, this needs justifying e.g. what was the first infection ever described/diagnosed or treated with antibiotics??? Stuff on the medical side of things also seems a bit colloquial (e.g. Diagnosis section) - any doctors want to help formalise language there? Emble64 (talk) 17:33, 22 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Instead of mentioning some seemingly random examples of infections, I suggest making a rather systematic classification, both by types of parasites or pathogens (such as bacterial infection, viral infection, fungal infection, etc...) and by site (such as ear infection, skin infection, etc...). Mikael Häggström (talk) 09:15, 4 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Done Mikael Häggström (talk) 05:26, 28 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]"This may mean touching infected bodily fluids or drinking contaminated water or being bitten by the deer tick."
Why specifically mention the deer tick? 75.67.78.105 (talk) 18:04, 28 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The definition that starts this article is not correct according to medical dictionaries. The immune system, which starts working after infection, is mentioned at the right place in the third sentence but should not be part of the definition of infection, inflammation which is the immediate response of the innate immune system is the "body's defensive response to the tissue damage caused by infection." (Black's definition, see below). The following is the best definition I could find from Mosby's Dental Dictionary, 2nd edition. © 2008 Elsevier, also removed weasle words "colloquially, infections are usually considered to be...", definitions should be short and precise.
Changed to:
"An infection is the invasion of body tissues by disease-causing microorganisms, their multiplication and the reaction of body tissues to these microorganisms and the toxins that they produce. Infections are caused by microorganisms such as viruses, prions, bacteria, and viroids, though larger organisms like macroparasites and fungi can also infect.
From:
"An infection is the immune response to a colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease. Colloquially, infections are usually considered to be caused by microorganisms or microparasites like viruses, prions, bacteria, and viroids, though larger organisms like macroparasites and fungi can also infect."
The definition in Black's microbiology in the chapter "host-microbe relationships and disease processes" is consistent with this:
"Infection refers to the multiplication of any parasitic organism within or on the host's body." (Black, Jacquelyn G. Microbiology: Principles and explanations, 7th edition, page 402)
One thing I see that this page did have a correct definition in past. Paraphrasing and always sticking close to medical dictionary definitions could prevent incorrect definitions creeping in :)
The word "colonization" used in the original was not a good choice because it actually has a medical definition which no one is going to be familiar with (or at least needs to be defined before being used):
1. [the presence and multiplication of microorganisms without tissue invasion or damage. The colonies develop when a bacterial cell begins reproducing] Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. 2009, Elsevier or:
2. "According to Black colonization is not enough to cause an infection. The microbes must also be able to colonize the cell's surface or to penetrate it. Colonization refers to the growth of microorganisms on epithelial surfaces, such as skin or mucous membranes or other host tissues. For colonization to to occur after adherence, the pathogens must survive and reproduce despite host defense mechanisms..." (p. 409).
In defining words, one should use words simpler than the word or term being defined :)
Fernquestjon (talk) 09:42, 28 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Is anyone else from WP:MED actively monitoring this article? I'd like to suggest a rework of it.
The problem is the scope is so wide (viral, bacterial, mycosis, etc…) that it’s impossible to succinctly discuss the pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, investigation and treatment. I’d like to suggest that we limit the infection article to classification and the history of our knowledge of transmissible agents as sources of disease then create 5 articles for: Bacterial infection, Viral infection, Parasitic infection, Fungal infection, and Prion infection.
Alternatively, break the article down with the first 2 sections as “history of transmissible agents as sources of disease” then classification. Then 5 sections on Bacterial infection, Viral infection, Parasitic infection, Fungal infection, and Prion infection. Within each of those sections have uniform subsections of classification, pathophysiology, symptoms, signs, treatment.
Thoughts? Ian Furst (talk) 14:59, 25 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Please use and define this term. Lesion (talk) 12:29, 15 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]
On the article infectious disease (medical specialty) there is an RFC regarding the title of the article. That article is about the field of medicine dedicated to the study and treatment of infectious diseases. At some point, the article was renamed "infectious medicine", the emerging consensus from the RFC (backed by authoritative sources) describes the medical field as "infectious disease" and so editors are going to proceed with renaming it as such. I noticed that the Medical category navigation also used this title, and continued followup lead me here. On this article, the lede described the medical specialty as "infectiology", a term that does not appear to be widely used. Further, there is no article for "infectiology" (redirects here?). I have edited this article to change references to the term "infectiology", and linked to the appropriate soon-to-be-renamed article on "infectious disease (medical specialty)". If anyone takes issue with this and has some informed/referenced insight, please let it be known on the related page. -- Forridean (T/C) 21:30, 20 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to 8 external links on Infection. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add {{cbignore}} after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add {{nobots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.
This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).
Cheers. —cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 00:48, 28 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The article says "Techniques like hand washing, wearing gowns, and wearing face masks can help prevent infections from being passed from one person to another. Frequent hand washing remains the most important defense against the spread of unwanted organisms.[22] There are other forms of prevention such as avoiding the use of illicit drugs, using a condom, and having a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and regular exercise. Cooking foods well and avoiding foods that have been left outside for a long time is also important." I question, first, the nonspecific recommendation of "wearing gowns." I'm sitting in an easy chair while typing this, and wearing a shirt and trousers. Should I go get a "gown" and wear it? Does it refer to a surgeon wearing a gown while operating? Should it in that case specify a sterile gown, or could he wear any old gown? I added a link to Asepsis since Semmelweis and Lister greatly reduced the incidence of surgical infections by using disinfectants and others later other 19th century surgeons emphasized aseptic technique: cleaning the incision site, applying antiseptic to the skin at the incision site, surround with sterile drapes, using sterile sutures, cleaning and disinfecting hands, later still wearing sterile rubber gloves, using instruments which can be sterilized (no ivory handles), wearing a sterile gown, later wearing a sterile gauze face mask. My second objection is to the bare recommendation of "wearing face masks" with no elaboration. When should they be worn? I see in news videos that some folks in some Asian countries go around wearing surgical masks all the time. Does this section promote such behavior, or is the goal to promote aseptic surgery, or to wear a surgical mask or N95 mask when one has a respiratory infection, or while in the presence of someone with a respiratory infection or MRSA or other highly dread pathogens, or while in the presence of an immunocompromised person? The third problem is recommendation of "avoiding foods that have been left outside for a long time." This is too vague and sounds like the vegetables growing in my back yard might cause an infection, since they have been "left outside" for months while they were growing. Should it instead refer to avoiding perishable foods which are spoiled? Frequent hand washing, at least before handling food or doing medical procedures, sounds like a fine idea. Constantly washing hands for no reason sounds like obsessive compulsive behavior. I propose a general rewrite of the paragraph, with references, unless the present language can be cited directly to reliable sources.Edison (talk) 19:01, 19 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 2 external links on Infection. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 18:28, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
This revert. It was not a joke. I was thinking it didn't make sense to say "referring a person with infectious disease to infectious disease". --Convulsion fizzled (talk) 15:07, 27 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Hey there, I'm a new Wikipedian and my class and I are editing the Society and Culture section of this article for our class project. I created a bibliography of some potential sources here and wanted to get some opinions on whether they would make a good contribution or not. Thanks!
Blake.Travis (talk) 03:01, 10 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]
What is the history of microbiology? 165.58.129.149 (talk) 11:18, 1 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, how is your question relevant to the article? Cinadon36 17:52, 1 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Local factor of infection 2409:4064:E8A:88E6:0:0:3089:2E05 (talk) 14:22, 25 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Is there an open-ness by other editors towards adding something on the effects of climate change on infectious diseases? At the very least I would like to add climate change and infectious diseases under See also (I think that list is actually too long). But it might warrant a sub-heading with an excerpt from climate change and infectious diseases. EMsmile (talk) 12:04, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
