HIV/AIDS The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was initially recognized in 1981. Shortly thereafter, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was identified as the causative agent. Over the quarter-century since, HIV-AIDS has reached…

Soft Tissue Infection and Pelvic Abscess Despite significant advances in our understanding of the microbiology and pathogenesis of pelvic and intra-abdominal infections and substantial improvement in the diagnosis and treatment…

Hepatitis Infection Acute viral hepatitis is a self-limiting infection that predominantly affects the liver, resulting in a necroinflammatory response. Formerly, acute hepatitis was divided into two types based on clinical…

Sexually Transmitted Diseases There has been a virtual revolution in our knowledge related to the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs),…

Human Papilloma Virus Human papilloma virus (HPV) is a double-stranded DNA virus. It is a member of the papovavirus family. Papillomaviruses are highly host specific and are characterized by an…

Herpes Simplex Virus Infection Herpes simplex virus (HSV) belongs to the Herpesviridae family, which is a group of double-stranded DNA viruses. Wellrecognized are HSV type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2…

Chlamydial Infections Chlamydia trachomatis infections are the most commonly reported notifiable disease in the United States. In addition, C. trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the…

Genital Mycoplasmas The mycoplasmas are a unique group of microorganisms that commonly inhabit the mucosa of the respiratory and genital tracts. These include Mycoplasma pneumoniae, the agent responsible for atypical…

Group B Streptococci Since the last edition of this text, considerable progress has been made in the prevention of perinatal group B streptococcal (GBS) infections. In the summer of 2002,…