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Medical Specialty

Infectious Disease

Internal Medicine Subspecialties
Origin Built on germ theory established in the 1860s to 1880s; the Journal of Infectious Diseases has been published continuously since 1904, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America was formed in 1963.

The subspecialty of internal medicine devoted to diagnosing and managing infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, including antimicrobial stewardship and outbreak response. It rests on the germ theory of disease established in the 1860s to 1880s by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, whose postulates for proving a microbe causes a specific disease remain foundational method.

Facts
Origin Period
Built on germ theory established in the 1860s to 1880s; the Journal of Infectious Diseases has been published continuously since 1904, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America was formed in 1963. 2
Classification
Type/Classification
Clinical Specialty 1
Infectious Disease
Filter Results1 entry
Connections

Associated With

Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
Chagas Disease, Conditions

Parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi; infectious disease specialty.

Chickenpox, Conditions
Cholera, Conditions
COVID-19, Conditions
Ebola Virus Disease, Conditions

Viral hemorrhagic fever; infectious disease specialty.

Source A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
Gonorrhea, Conditions

Bacterial sexually transmitted infection (Neisseria gonorrhoeae); infectious disease specialty.

Hepatitis, Conditions

HIV testing is a core diagnostic tool of infectious disease medicine.

HIV/AIDS, Conditions

Parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma brucei ("sleeping sickness"); infectious disease specialty.

Vaccination and immune response to pathogens sit at the shared boundary of the two specialties.

Influenza, Conditions
Leprosy, Conditions
Malaria, Conditions
Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
Malaria, Conditions

The Mantoux test screens for tuberculosis infection within infectious disease medicine.

Measles, Conditions
Meningitis, Conditions
Mumps, Conditions
Pertussis, Conditions

Bacterial respiratory infection (Bordetella pertussis); infectious disease specialty.

Pneumonia, Conditions
Rabies, Conditions
Rubella, Conditions
Schistosomiasis, Conditions

Parasitic disease caused by Schistosoma flatworms; infectious disease specialty.

Sepsis, Conditions
Shingles, Conditions
Smallpox, Conditions
Tetanus, Conditions
Toxoplasmosis, Conditions

Parasitic infection (Toxoplasma gondii); infectious disease specialty.

Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information

Universal precautions are infection control standards used across infectious disease and clinical care.

Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
Zika Fever, Conditions

Mosquito-borne viral infection; infectious disease specialty.

Long-Form Articles

Notable Specialists

Anthony Fauci, Healers

Anthony Fauci served as longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Carlos Finlay, Healers

Carlos Finlay proposed mosquito transmission of yellow fever.

Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
Edward Jenner, Healers
Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information

Girolamo Fracastoro proposed an early germ theory of contagion and named syphilis.

Louis Pasteur, Healers
Source A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
Robert Koch, Healers
Source A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
Source A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
Ronald Ross, Healers

Ronald Ross discovered mosquito transmission of malaria.

Walter Reed, Healers

Walter Reed proved mosquito transmission of yellow fever.

Treats

Cholera, Conditions
HIV/AIDS, Conditions
Malaria, Conditions
Syphilis, Conditions
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Medical specialty
WikipediaClassification table
Quote, Classification table
Medical specialties that focus on the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of disease.
View the Source
2. Forming The Society (IDSA)
Infectious Diseases Society of Americaidsociety.org Forming The Society page, Our history section, opening sentence
Quote, idsociety.org Forming The Society page, Our history section, opening sentence
IDSA was formed in 1963.
View the Source
Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
American College of Physicians
  • acponline.org Infectious Disease subspecialty page, The Discipline section
    Infectious disease medicine is the subspecialty of internal medicine that focuses on diagnosing and managing infections.
  • Associated With: Antibiotics
  • Associated With: Vaccination
  • Associated With: Malaria
  • Associated With: Tuberculosis
  • Notable Specialists: Edward Jenner
  • Notable Specialists: Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran
View the Source
A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine
  • Associated With: Germ Theory of Disease
  • Notable Specialists: Louis Pasteur
  • Notable Specialists: Robert Koch
  • Notable Specialists: Robert Koch Institute
View the Source
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