TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Microbial Virulence Factors in Pulmonary Infections A1 - Britto, Carl D. A1 - Priebe, Gregory P. A1 - Pier, Gerald B. A2 - Grippi, Michael A. A2 - Antin-Ozerkis, Danielle E. A2 - Dela Cruz, Charles S. A2 - Kotloff, Robert M. A2 - Kotton, Camille Nelson A2 - Pack, Allan I. PY - 2023 T2 - Fishman’s Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, 6e AB - Beginning at birth, microbial organisms enter and leave the human body, primarily through external and mucosal surfaces. Some of these predominantly commensal organisms become resident; others are transient; and still others establish latent foci in various tissue spaces. Over a lifetime, the host–pathogen interactions that take place in an average human determine colonization, microbiome composition, and susceptibility to infections as well as immune-related events such as vaccine responses, autoimmunity, and malignant transformation. The human host is a reservoir for hundreds of strains of viruses, thousands of bacterial species, and a scattering of fungi and parasites. When these organisms violate their niche, invade, or produce toxic products, and at the same time overcome innate and adaptive host defenses, virulent interactions take place and can lead to disease. Organisms have evolved a variety of strategies to overcome host defenses, evade the immune system, scavenge for nutrients, eradicate competing bacteria, and survive to spread to other hosts. At the macro level, infection in the lung is the culmination of a disruption in the epidemiologic triad comprising host, agent, and environment. At the molecular level, new mechanistic insights into the interactions between host susceptibility, pathogen virulence, and environmental risk factors continue to be discovered. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/24 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1195014439 ER -