The infectious process is a complex process consisting of many components, which includes the interaction of various infectious agents with the human body. Among other things, it is characterized by the development of complex reactions, various changes in the functioning of internal organs and organ systems, changes in hormonal status, as well as various immunological protective mechanisms and resistance factors (non-specific).
The infectious process is the basis for the development of any disease of an infectious nature. After heart disease and cancer pathologies, diseases of an infectious nature, in terms of prevalence, occupy the third place and, in this regard, knowledge of their etiology is extremely important in medical practice.
The causative agents of infectious diseases include all kinds of microorganisms of animal or plant origin - lower fungi, rickettsia, bacteria, viruses, spirochetes, protozoa. An infectious agent is the primary and obligatory cause that leads to the onset of a disease. It is these agentsand determine how specific the pathological condition will be, and what the clinical manifestations will be. But you need to understand that not every penetration of an “enemy” agent will give rise to a disease. In the event that the mechanism of adaptation of the organism prevails over the mechanism of damage, the infectious process will not be complete enough and a pronounced response of the immune system will occur, as a result of which the infectious agents will go into an inactive form. The chance of such a transition depends not only on the state of the body's immune system, but also on the degree of virulence, pathogenicity, as well as invasiveness and many other properties characteristic of a pathogenic microorganism.
The pathogenicity of microorganisms is their direct ability to cause the onset of a disease.
The infectious process is built in several stages:
- overcoming the barriers of the human body (mechanical, chemical, environmental);
- colonization and adhesion by the pathogen of accessible cavities of the human body;
- reproduction of harmful agents;
- formation of protective reactions by the body to the harmful effects of a pathogenic microorganism;
- restoration of the internal environment of the human body, as well as the acquisition by a person of immunity to a pathogenic microorganism.
It is precisely these periods of infectious diseases that most often go through any person whose body gets "enemy" agents. Vaginal infections also do not constituteexception and go through all these steps. It is worth noting that the time from the penetration of the agent into the body until the first symptoms of the disease appear is called incubation.
Knowledge of all these mechanisms is extremely important, since infectious diseases are among the most common on the planet in terms of occurrence. In this regard, it is extremely important to understand all the features of infectious processes. This will allow not only to diagnose the disease in time, but also to choose the right treatment tactics for it.
