Infectious Diseases Starting with "P"

 Pneumonia is the acute inflammation of the lungs leading to severe respiratory problems and is caused by bacteria, amoebae, viruses, fungi, parasites, or injury to the lungs.

Phagocytes are immune cells that ingest and destroy microorganisms and foreign matter by cellular digestion or the process known as phagocytosis.

Phagocytosis is an immune response produced by the body, wherein the white blood cells engulf and destroy microorganisms and other foreign particles.

Pharyngitis, commonly known as sore throat, is inflammation of the pharynx caused by viral or bacterial infection and characterized by pain, fever, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck.

Plague is an infectious and often fatal disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia Pestis. It is primarily a disease of rodents transmitted to humans by the bite of infected rodents especially rats and the fleas that feed off them. Plague takes three forms: bubonic--the mildest, has characteristic swollen lymph nodes (buboes); Pneumonic--plague has extensive lung involvement and is spread from person to person from infected droplets expelled during coughing; and Septicaemic--plague where bacteria enters the bloodstream, which is almost invariably fatal.

Pleuritis is the inflammation of Pleuria, the membrane that surrounds the lungs. The causes include infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Pneumococci is a general term used to refer to streptococcus pneumoniae, a non-motive Gram-positive bacterium that is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia, associated with meningitis and other infectious diseases.

Polio or infantile paralysis is an acute and contagious viral disease affecting the central nervous system. Caused by poliovirus, the disease primarily affects children causing asymmetric paralysis, most often in the legs.

Pseudomonas is a rod-shaped gram-negative bacteria that belongs to the family Pseudomonads, commonly found in soil and water, Pseudomonas is an occasional pathogen of plants and also a normal flora of the human skin which can turn pathogenic when it exploits some break in the host defenses.

Pus is a thick yellowish-white fluid formed in infected tissues, which contain dead white blood cells, tissue fluid, bacteria, and other cellular debris.

A pustule is a tender, red, elevated, pus-containing inflamed lesion resembling a blister that can rupture easily.