Immunology: Immune System and Infectious Diseases

The constant struggle between pathogens and the human immune system has been posing a significant threat to our health for thousands of years. Infectious diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide. These are typically caused by bacteria (intra- and extracellular), viruses, fungi, parasites (worms/helminths) and prions. Under normal circumstance, the immune response orchestrates a robust protection against these pathogens using both molecular and cellular mechanisms. This usually leads to direct or indirect inactivation of the infectious agent, so the disease symptoms may not appear.…