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Infectious Disease

When you have a mild and/or common infectious disease, you will usually visit your primary care doctor for diagnosis and treatment. However, what do you do if your infection does not go away after treatment? What if your doctor doesn’t have ability to test for rarer types of infections? What if you have a compromised immune system?

If you have concerns about an infection that will not go away or have other health conditions that make treating an infection complicated, consider seeing an infectious disease specialist. They can provide a more targeted and effective approach to diagnosing and treating your infection.

Types of Infectious Diseases

Below are some of the types of infections that an infectious disease specialist works on managing.

Bacterial Infections

  • Skin and soft tissue infections
  • Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
  • Respiratory infections (pneumonia, bronchitis)
  • Bloodstream infections (sepsis)
  • Bone and joint infections

Viral Infections

  • Influenza (flu)
  • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
  • Herpes simplex virus (HSV)
  • Hepatitis B and C
  • Respiratory viruses (e.g., COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus)

Fungal Infections

  • Candidiasis (yeast infections)
  • Aspergillosis
  • Cryptococcosis
  • Histoplasmosis
  • Fungal infections of the skin and nails

Parasitic Infections

  • Malaria
  • Giardiasis
  • Toxoplasmosis
  • Intestinal parasites (e.g., roundworms, tapeworms)

Vector-Borne Infections

  • Lyme disease (tick-borne)
  • Malaria (mosquito-borne)
  • West Nile virus (mosquito-borne)
  • Dengue fever (mosquito-borne)

Hospital-Acquired Infections

  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
  • Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection
  • Hospital-acquired pneumonia
  • Surgical site infections

Travel-Related Infections

  • Traveler’s diarrhea
  • Typhoid fever
  • Yellow fever
  • Tropical diseases

Immunocompromised Patients

  • Infections in individuals with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS, organ transplant recipients, or cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

See an Infectious Disease Specialist

Singing River’s infectious disease expert, Dr. Okechukwu Ekenna, is a renowned specialist and author who has been treating patients with infections in Jackson County for thirty years. Call his office at (228) 769-2588.

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