| System | Immune system |
|---|---|
| Significant diseases | Infections, e.g. Osteomyelitis, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Influenza, Bioterrorism |
| Significant tests | Blood cultures, Serology, Medical Imaging |
| Specialist | Infectious disease specialist |
Infectious medicine or infectious disease medicine is a medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis, control and treatment of infections. An infectious disease (ID) specialist's practice may consist largely of managing nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections, or it may be out-patient based, in which case it focuses more on community-acquired infections.
Scope edit
ID specialists typically serve as consultants to other physicians in cases of complex infections or immunologic issues, and often manage patients with HIV/AIDS and other forms of immunodeficiency. [1]
History edit
ID is historically associated with travel medicine and tropical medicine, as many diseases acquired in tropical and subtropical areas are infective in nature.[2]
Training edit
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
| Names | Doctor, Medical Specialist |
Occupation type | Specialty |
Activity sectors | Medicine |
| Description | |
Education required | Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) or Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery |
Fields of employment | Hospitals, Clinics |
United States edit
In the US, ID is a subspecialty of internal medicine or pediatrics[3] (i.e., an internist or pediatrician trains for an additional 1–2 years as a medical fellow to qualify as an ID specialist and sit for the ID boards).
References edit
- ^ "IDSA : What is an ID Specialist". www.idsociety.org. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
- ^ Joint Royal Colleges Postgraduate Training Board. "Infectious Diseases". Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- ^ "Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine". American Association of Medical Colleges.
External links edit
