Host–pathogen interaction

A biological relationship in which an infectious agent enters or encounters a host and interacts with its cells, tissues, or defenses. Its outcomes range from clearance to persistent infection and disease.

Pathogen entry: The process by which an infectious agent crosses host barriers and reaches susceptible cells or tissues. Entry establishes the first physical steps in the interaction.
Host: An organism that supports or is affected by another organism living in or on it. The host supplies the environment and defenses encountered by an infectious agent.
Vaccine: A preparation that trains immune defenses to recognize a pathogen or its components. Vaccination prepares host defenses before exposure to particular pathogens.
Colonization: The presence and growth of microorganisms on or in a host without necessarily causing tissue invasion or disease. Colonization can occur without the harmful effects associated with disease.
Host susceptibility: The degree to which a host is vulnerable to infection or disease from a particular agent. Differences in susceptibility help explain divergent outcomes after similar exposures.
Tropism: The tendency of an infectious agent to infect particular host species, tissues, or cell types. Tropism determines which host cells an agent can engage.
Pathogen: An infectious agent capable of causing disease in a host. The pathogen is the agent whose traits shape the interaction.
Antimicrobial resistance: The ability of microbes to survive or grow despite medicines that once inhibited them. Resistance changes which treatments can control pathogen populations in hosts.
Commensalism: A biological relationship in which one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed. It contrasts with interactions in which the host is harmed.
Host genetic resistance to infection: Inherited host traits that reduce the likelihood or severity of infection by particular agents. Genetic variation can alter the course of a specific interaction.

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