superinfection

superinfection /su·per·in·fec·tion/ (-in-fek´shun) a new infection occurring in a patient having a preexisting infection, such as bacterial superinfection in viral respiratory disease or infection of a chronic hepatitis B carrier with hepatitis D virus.

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su·per·in·fec·tion (spr-n-fkshn)

n.

1. The act or process of superinfecting a cell or an organism.

2. An infection following a previous infection, especially when caused by microorganisms that have become resistant to the antibiotics used earlier.

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Superinfection

A condition in which a patient with a contagious disease acquires a second infection, as when a patient with granuloma inguinale is also infected with syphilis.

Mentioned in: Granuloma Inguinale, Hepatitis D

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superinfection

[-infek′shən]

Etymology: L, super + inficere, to stain

an infection occurring during antimicrobial treatment for another infection. It is usually a result of change in the normal tissue flora favoring replication of some organisms by diminishing the vitality and then the number of competing organisms, as yeast microbes flourish during penicillin therapy prescribed to cure a bacterial infection.

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superinfection,

n an infection occurring during antimicrobial treatment for another infection.

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superinfection

a new infection complicating the course of antimicrobial therapy of an existing infection, due to proliferation of bacteria or fungi resistant to the drug(s) in use.

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superinfection

Infectious disease An infection that follows a prior infection, which occurs when native regional flora are substantially reduced, often by antibiotics, allowing invasion by opportunistic organisms, as in pseudomembranous colitis or esophageal candidiasis