PhiBabs935
commented
3 years ago Current term:
bacterial toxin disorder =def Disorder the formation of which involves some bacterial toxin.
Comments:
The idea is that this class will serve as a parent for any disorder involving bacterial toxins, including those that do not involve infection by the relevant toxin-producing bacteria. Thus, food botulism would have as its material basis a bacterial toxin disorder that is NOT a bacterial infectious disorder since the bacteria itself need not ever localize in the host.
Of course, other bacterial toxin disorders are also infectious disorders. That is, cases where bacteria are infecting the host, and secreted toxins are a virulence factor aiding in the infection of the host by helping the bacteria bypass the innate and adaptive immune responses of the host. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5243249/
I did at one point define this class as "Disorder caused by some bacterial toxin." But I wanted to avoid the potential suggestion that the toxin is in all cases the primary causative factor. It is the primary causative factor in food botulism where the bacteria need never be present in the host. But in cases involving infection, the toxin has more of a supporting role, it seems to me.
genegodbold
Should we have a class for disorders that involve toxins, but not an infection or infectious disorder?
Should this be in Bacteria IDO? I am going to put such a term in BIDO for now, conditionally. My thought is that such disorders serve as the material basis for diseases, such as those that are caused indirectly by bacteria-produced toxins. But requires further discussion.