Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease
Infectious disease is the subspecialty of internal medicine dealing with diagnosis and the treatment of communicable diseases of all types, in all organs, and in patients of all ages. This specialty requires an understanding of the microbiology, prevention, and management of disorders caused by viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections, including appropriate use of antimicrobial agents, vaccines, and other immune biological agents; environmental, occupational, and host factors that predispose to infection; and basic principles of epidemiology and transmission of infection. The emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, and AIDS epidemic have significantly affected this specialty.