Infection is the invasion of an organism's body tissues by disease-causing agents, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to these organisms and the toxins they produce. Infectious disease, also known as transmissible disease or communicable disease, is illness resulting from an infection.
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).