Antimicrobial and Antibacterial Agents

Immunity , Infection Diseases and Agents

The immune system orchestrates a potent defense that consists of the production of specific antibody molecules and lymphocytes capable of reacting with and inactivating foreign agents, either directly or indirectly through the involvement of molecular and cellular inflammatory processes. The human immune system is necessary for our survival in a world full of potentially dangerous microbes, and high impairment of even one arm of this method can predispose to severe, even life-threatening, infections. Infection happens when a pathogen invades body cells and reproduces. Infection will generally lead to an immune response. If the response is fast and effective, the infection will be eliminated or contained so quickly that the disease will not occur. Sometimes infection leads to disease that is marked by symptoms or evidence of illness. Disease may occur when immunity is low or impaired, when virulence of the pathogen (its ability to damage host cells) is high, and when the number of pathogens in the body is great.