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 PeriodBuilt 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 Years of Training Classification
Type/Classification Connections
Associated With
Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
Parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi; infectious disease specialty.
Viral hemorrhagic fever; infectious disease specialty.
Source A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
Gonorrhea, Conditions Bacterial sexually transmitted infection (Neisseria gonorrhoeae); infectious disease specialty.
HIV testing is a core diagnostic tool of infectious disease medicine.
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.
Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
The Mantoux test screens for tuberculosis infection within infectious disease medicine.
Pertussis, Conditions Bacterial respiratory infection (Bordetella pertussis); infectious disease specialty.
Parasitic disease caused by Schistosoma flatworms; infectious disease specialty.
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
Long-Form Articles
Notable Specialists
Anthony Fauci served as longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Source Baruch Samuel Blumberg (Wikipedia)
Carlos Finlay proposed mosquito transmission of yellow fever.
Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
Source Daniel Carleton Gajdusek (Wikipedia)
Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
Source Ernst Rodenwaldt (source article)
Source Friedrich Fülleborn (Wikipedia)
Source Friedrich Küchenmeister (Wikipedia)
Source Gerhard Armauer Hansen (Wikipedia)
Girolamo Fracastoro proposed an early germ theory of contagion and named syphilis.
Source Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (Wikipedia)
Source Jim Yong Kim (Wikipedia)
Source John Huxham (Wikipedia)
Source Kibong'oto Hospital (Wikipedia)
Source A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
Source Ludwig Külz (source article)
Source National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Wikipedia)
Source Patrick Russell (herpetologist) (source article)
Source Prince Henry Hospital (Wikipedia)
Source A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
Source A Theory of Germs (NCBI Bookshelf)
Source Roger Brooke (Wikipedia)
Ronald Ross discovered mosquito transmission of malaria.
Source Rudolph Goclenius the Younger (Wikipedia)
Source Ruth Pfau (Wikipedia)
Source Sheila Tlou (source article)
Source Theodor Bilharz (Wikipedia)
Source Thomas Frewen (physician) (source article)
Walter Reed proved mosquito transmission of yellow fever.
Source Willem Piso (Wikipedia)
Source Yuen Kwok-yung (source article)
Treats
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Medical specialty
WikipediaClassification tableQuote, Classification table
Medical specialties that focus on the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of disease.
2. Forming The Society (IDSA)
Infectious Diseases Society of Americaidsociety.org Forming The Society page, Our history section, opening sentenceQuote, idsociety.org Forming The Society page, Our history section, opening sentence
IDSA was formed in 1963.
3. Infectious Diseases Fellowship | Medicine
Infectious Disease Fellowship, program descriptionQuote, Infectious Disease Fellowship, program description
is a two-year program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
American College of Physiciansacponline.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 Kibong'oto Hospital (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Kibong'oto Hospital, Lead paragraph 1Quote, Notable Specialists: Kibong'oto Hospital, Lead paragraph 1
The institute provides specialized clinical services, research, training, and public health support in infectious diseases.
Prince Henry Hospital (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Prince Henry Hospital, Lead paragraph 1Quote, Notable Specialists: Prince Henry Hospital, Lead paragraph 1
former teaching hospital and infectious diseases hospital
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Lead paragraph 1Quote, Notable Specialists: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Lead paragraph 1
infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases
Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections, Lead paragraph 1Quote, Notable Specialists: Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections, Lead paragraph 1
collecting worldwide data on fungal disease
Baruch Samuel Blumberg (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Baruch Samuel Blumberg, Lead paragraphQuote, Notable Specialists: Baruch Samuel Blumberg, Lead paragraph
hepatitis B virus
Daniel Carleton Gajdusek (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, Lead paragraphQuote, Notable Specialists: Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, Lead paragraph
infectious agent
John Huxham (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: John Huxham, Lead sentenceQuote, Notable Specialists: John Huxham, Lead sentence
a provincial doctor notable for his study of fevers
Friedrich Küchenmeister (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Friedrich Küchenmeister, LifeQuote, Notable Specialists: Friedrich Küchenmeister, Life
He conducted research on tapeworms, trichinosis, and other parasites
Friedrich Fülleborn (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Friedrich Fülleborn, Lead paragraph [specialist-in]Quote, Notable Specialists: Friedrich Fülleborn, Lead paragraph [specialist-in]
was a physician who specialized in tropical medicine and parasitology
Ernst Rodenwaldt (source article)
Notable Specialists: Ernst Rodenwaldt, Article text [specialist-in]Quote, Notable Specialists: Ernst Rodenwaldt, Article text [specialist-in]
worked on malaria, typhus and cholera in Turkey and Asia Minor
Ludwig Külz (source article)
Notable Specialists: Ludwig Külz, Lead and biography textQuote, Notable Specialists: Ludwig Külz, Lead and biography text
he was tasked with dealing with the problem of malaria
Roger Brooke (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Roger Brooke, BiographyQuote, Notable Specialists: Roger Brooke, Biography
became a specialist in infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis
Jim Yong Kim (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Jim Yong Kim, Career, Partners in HealthQuote, Notable Specialists: Jim Yong Kim, Career, Partners in Health
Particular success in treating multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB)
Patrick Russell (herpetologist) (source article)
Notable Specialists: Patrick Russell (herpetologist), AleppoQuote, Notable Specialists: Patrick Russell (herpetologist), Aleppo
He studied the conditions of those who were infected and identified procedures to avoid infection
Ruth Pfau (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Ruth Pfau, Lead sectionQuote, Notable Specialists: Ruth Pfau, Lead section
devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan
Theodor Bilharz (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Theodor Bilharz, Lead sectionQuote, Notable Specialists: Theodor Bilharz, Lead section
made pioneering discoveries in the field of parasitology
Sheila Tlou (source article)
Notable Specialists: Sheila Tlou, Lead sentence of the articleQuote, Notable Specialists: Sheila Tlou, Lead sentence of the article
specializing in HIV/AIDS and women's health
Yuen Kwok-yung (source article)
Notable Specialists: Yuen Kwok-yung, Career [specialist-in]Quote, Notable Specialists: Yuen Kwok-yung, Career [specialist-in]
As of June 2024, Yuen is the Chair of Infectious Diseases at the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong.
Rudolph Goclenius the Younger (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Rudolph Goclenius the Younger, Career sectionQuote, Notable Specialists: Rudolph Goclenius the Younger, Career section
As a physician he worked on cures against the plague.
Thomas Frewen (physician) (source article)
Notable Specialists: Thomas Frewen (physician), Career and works [specialist-in]Quote, Notable Specialists: Thomas Frewen (physician), Career and works [specialist-in]
He became known as one of the first in England to adopt the practice of inoculation against smallpox.
Gerhard Armauer Hansen (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Life, communicable diseaseQuote, Notable Specialists: Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Life, communicable disease
Hansen concluded on the basis of epidemiological studies that leprosy was a communicable disease with a specific cause.
Willem Piso (Wikipedia)
Notable Specialists: Willem Piso, Lead and BiographyQuote, Notable Specialists: Willem Piso, Lead and Biography
While in Brazil, Piso studied tropical diseases and the medicinal properties of local plants.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.