Infestation
Invasion and occupation by pests and parasites in host
Infestation is the state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. It can also refer to the actual organisms living on or within a host.
01Terminology
In general, the term "infestation" refers to parasitic diseases caused by animals such as arthropods (i.e. mites, ticks, and lice) and worms, but excluding (except) conditions caused by protozoa, fungi, bacteria, and viruses, which are called infections.
02External and internal
Infestations can be classified as either external or internal with regard to the parasites' location in relation to the host.
External or ectoparasitic infestation is a condition in which organisms live primarily on the surface of the host (though porocephaliasis can penetrate viscerally) and includes those involving mites, ticks, head lice and bed bugs.
An internal (or endoparasitic) infestation is a condition in which organisms live within the host and includes those involving worms (though swimmer's itch stays near the surface).
Sometimes, the term "infestation" is reserved for external ectoparasitic infestations while the term infection refers to internal endoparasitic conditions.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Infestation”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- 13 сентября клещи 008.jpg by Исканцев олег, CC BY-SA 4.0
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