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Effect of Alcohol on Microbial Infection

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Infectious Diseases and Substance Abuse

Part of the book series: Infectious Agents and Pathogenesis ((IAPA))

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5. Conclusion

The studies to date suggest that alcohol is one of the many agents with low or negligible toxicity which can alter the ability of a host to resist an opportunistic infection caused by an organism, such as L. pneumophila. In all probability, an individual with a fully competent immune response system, and evincing normal resistance mechanisms would probably not be susceptible to infection with a particular pathogen, such as L. pneumophila. However, an individual who is already immunocompromised due to concomitant or preexisting infection with an immunosuppressive virus such as HIV or other microbes may be more susceptible to an opportunistic pathogen when exposed to a drug of abuse, including alcohol, which has the potential of dysregulating immunity. Obviously more studies should be performed since there are now many tools available to examine the nature and mechanism of resistance to microorganisms at the subcellular and genetic level.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic Laboratory Sciences, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan

    Yoshimasa Yamamoto

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, 33612

    Herman Friedman

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  1. Yoshimasa Yamamoto
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  2. Herman Friedman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL

    Herman Friedman  & Thomas W. Klein  & 

  2. Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Mauro Bendinelli

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© 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

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Yamamoto, Y., Friedman, H. (2005). Effect of Alcohol on Microbial Infection. In: Friedman, H., Klein, T.W., Bendinelli, M. (eds) Infectious Diseases and Substance Abuse. Infectious Agents and Pathogenesis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48688-1_13

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