Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Entries Tagged ‘Serologic Tests’

Giardia Lamblia

This protozoan lives in the duodenum and proximal jejunum and is said to be the most frequent intestinal parasite in the United States. An estimated 3%-7% of U.S. adults may have the disease. The organism is usually transmitted through fecal (sewage) contamination of water. Chloridation will not kill Giardia lamblia, but iodine will. Some reports […]

Entamoeba Histolytica

E. histolytica is a unicellular single-nucleus protozoan that is said to infect 10%-12% of the world’s population, the majority of these being in the tropics. In the United States, the population at greatest risk are travelers to third-world countries, immigrants or migrants from these areas, immunocompromised persons, and about 20%-32% of male homosexuals. The organism […]

Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV)

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a member of the herpesvirus group. Infection is spread through direct contact with skin lesions or through droplet inhalation. The incubation period is about 14 days (range, 9-21 days). Primary infection is usually varicella (chickenpox). The period of skin rash lasts about 4-6 days. This may be preceded by a short […]

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)

The Epstein-Barr virus is a member of the herpesvirus group and is reported to infect 80% or more of the U.S. population. It is thought to be spread from person to person, most likely through saliva, with the majority of infections occurring in childhood, adolescents, and young adults. The EBV infects B-lymphocytes. In common with […]

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)

HBV was originally called “serum hepatitis,” or “long-incubation hepatitis,” and has an incubation period of 60-90 days (range, 29-180 days). HBV is found in blood and body secretions. Infection was originally thought to be limited to parenteral inoculation (blood transfusion or injection with a contaminated needle). Although this is still the major source of infection, […]

Rubella

Rubella (German measles) is a very common infection of childhood, although primary infection can occur in adults. The major clinical importance of rubella is maternal infection during pregnancy, which may produce the congenital rubella syndrome in the fetus. The congenital rubella syndrome includes one or more of the following: congenital heart disease, cataracts, deafness, and […]

Systemic Mycoses

Certain fungi, known as the deep or systemic fungi, are characterized by involvement of visceral organs or penetrating types of infection. Besides true fungi, actinomycetes and nocardiae are bacteria that produce disease resembling deep fungal infection in many ways. These are discussed in the chapter on bacterial infections. The systemic fungi include Blastomyces dermatitidis (blastomycosis), […]

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi by means of several tick vectors, the principal one in the Northeast and North Central United States being the deer tick Ixodes dammini and in the Pacific Coast states, Ixodes pacificus, the Western black-legged tick (both morphologically “hard” ticks). The three major affected areas in the […]

Serologic Tests

In many cases, direct detection methods are not possible, are difficult and expensive, are unreliable, or are attempted with negative results. Serologic tests attempt to detect antibodies formed against antigens of an organism being searched for. The majority of organisms have a reasonably predictable antibody response. IgM-type antibodies appear first, most often in 7-14 days […]