A disseminated disease is a type of disease that has spread from its initial point of origin or contact in the body to other regions that were not its specific target of attack. It usually spreads through the blood supply or the lymphatic system that carries white blood cells in the plasma to fight infection. There are generally two types that are common in humans: those caused by cancer, where tumor cells spread throughout the body; and infectious diseases caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses. Infections that are prone to developing into a form of disseminated disease include AIDS, tuberculosis, and subcutaneous skin infections, such as those that cause gangrene.
Cancer is considered to be a form of disseminated disease, as it uses the body's bloodstream to metastasize, where it transfers copies of itself to other regions. Treatment of disseminated disease involving cancer has been done since the 1950s using chemotherapeutic agents, which can kill tumor cells as they spread. In the 1970s, some antibiotics were also found to have beneficial effects against cancer, such as actinomycin-D and bleomycin, so combinations of these agents along with chemotherapy treatments were started. In combination treatments beginning in 1965, up to 70% of patients on the new regimen showed positive reactions when the compound cisplatin was included. This remains a common cancer treatment as of 2011, with new drug combinations resulting in a cancer-free state for 61% to 83% of patients, depending on the type of cancer.
Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis carried by airborne water droplets that infect the lungs. In rare cases, tuberculosis will develop into a disseminated disease that spreads to many parts of the body, such as the bones, intestines, and lining of the heart. People most prone to the disseminated form of tuberculosis are those with weak immune systems, such as the elderly, HIV patients, and infants. As with cancer, the disseminated form of tuberculosis is treated with a combination of ten or more different chemical agents and antibiotics.
As of 2011, medical science has detected a specific range of infectious organisms known to be probable causes of disseminated disease. Amoebae, like several species of Acanthamoeba, they may be responsible for causing disseminated disease even though they do not require a living human host like viruses and do not have specific human or animal carriers. It is known that bacteria M. chelonae , M. avium-intracellulare Y M abscessus they are responsible for disseminated diseases related to the lung, soft tissues and AIDS, respectively. Fungi in the Hyalohyphomycoses group also cause disseminated disease that is more common in immunosuppressed people and in people who have recently received transplants. Examples of the most common fungal species in this group that cause infectious disease include fusarium spp., acremonium spp. Y Paecilomyces spp.