COLONIZATION VS INFECTION

UNDERSTANDING COLONIZATION VS INFECTION

All wounds are colonized but not all wounds are infected. Colonization is the normal presence of microbes in the body that do not cause symptoms or disease. For example, Staphylococcus epidermidis is normally found on the skin and is not usually pathogenic. Infection is the invasion of body tissue and production of toxins by microbes not normally present resulting in disease and a host response, such as inflammation and alike.