virulence (redirected from virulence alteration)

virulence [′vir·ə·ləns]

(microbiology)

The disease-producing power of a microorganism; infectiousness.

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Virulence

The ability of a microorganism to cause disease. Virulence and pathogenicity are often used interchangeably, but virulence may also be used to indicate the degree of pathogenicity. Scientific understanding of the underlying mechanisms of virulence has increased rapidly due to the application of the techniques of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and immunology. Bacterial virulence is better understood than that of other infectious agents.

Virulence is often multifactorial, involving a complex interplay between the parasite and the host. Various host factors, including age, sex, nutritional status, genetic constitution, and the status of the immune system, affect the outcome of the parasite-host interaction. Hosts with depressed immune systems, such as transplant and cancer patients, are susceptible to microorganisms not normally pathogenic in healthy hosts. Such microorganisms are referred to as opportunistic pathogens. The attribute of virulence is present in only a small portion of the total population of microorganisms, most of which are harmless or even beneficial to humans and other animals. See Opportunistic infections

The spread of an infectious disease usually involves the adherence of the invading pathogen to a body surface. Next, the pathogen multiplies in host tissues, resisting or evading various nonspecific host defense systems. Actual disease symptoms are from damage to host tissues caused either directly or indirectly by the microorganism's components or products.

Most genetic information in bacteria is carried in the chromosome. However, genetic information is also carried on plasmids, which are independently replicating structures much smaller than the chromosome. Plasmids may provide bacteria with additional virulence-related capabilities (such as pilus formation, iron transport systems, toxin production, and antibiotic resistance). In some bacteria, several virulence determinants are regulated by a single genetic locus. See Bacteria, Cellular immunology, Plasmid, Virus