<Tr> <Th> Specialty </Th> <Td> Infectious disease </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> (edit on Wikidata) </Td> </Tr> <P> Infection is the invasion of an organism's body tissues by disease - causing agents, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agents and the toxins they produce . Infectious disease, also known as transmissible disease or communicable disease, is illness resulting from an infection . </P> <P> Infections are caused by infectious agents including viruses, viroids, prions, bacteria, nematodes such as parasitic roundworms and pinworms, arthropods such as ticks, mites, fleas, and lice, fungi such as ringworm, and other macroparasites such as tapeworms and other helminths . </P>

Within the chain of infection the disease producing agent is referred to as