Ancient History and New Frontiers: Infectious Diseases

As defined by the World Health Organization, “infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another.”1 Zoonotic diseases are those that may be spread to humans by animals.1 The ongoing history, saga, of infec tious diseases is a long one. While the concept of infectious disease may be as old as humankind, the idea of what is infectious has changed, considerably, beginning with what was visually unacceptable and moving to what was foul-smelling, until the discovery of microorganisms, the development of ge rm theory, and the connection between microorganisms and the development of diseases.
Source: Nursing Clinics of North America - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Preface Source Type: research