Opportunistic infections

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Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology (Index, Outline)

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An opportunistic infection is an infectious disorder caused by pathogens that usually do not cause disease in a healthy immune system. A compromised immune system, however, presents an "opportunity" for the pathogen to infect.

Possible explainations of this link

A link between psychological factors and such infections may occur in a number of waysways:

• Immunodeficiency or immunosuppression can be caused by physical and psychological stress see psychoneuroimmunology
• The increased rate of infection may be seen to be linked to psychological conditions which are related to a common Genetic predisposition.

Other causes

• Malnutrition
• Recurrent infections
• Immunosuppressing agents for organ transplant recipients
• Chemotherapy for cancer
• AIDS or HIV-infection
• Skin damage
• Antibiotic treatment
• Medical procedures
• Pregnancy

Types of infections

These infections include:

• Pneumocystis jirovecii, previously known as Pneumocystis carinii f. hominis
• Candida albicans
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Streptococcus pyogenes
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Polyomavirus JC polyomavirus, the virus that causes Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.
• Acinetobacter baumanni
• Toxoplasma gondii
• Cytomegalovirus
• Aspergillus sp.
• Kaposi's Sarcoma

Treatment

Treatment depends on the type of opportunistic infection, but usually involves different antibiotics.

See also

• Psychosomatic medicine

Additional material

Papers

• Google Scholar

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Opportunistic pathogens