2017•The International Encyclopedia of PrimatologyRequires access
Infectious Agent
Christopher A. Whittier
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Abstract
Aninfectious agentis an entity that is capable of replicating in a host and, in combination with host and environmental factors, producing infection or infectious disease. Infectious agents range from simple prion proteins to complex multicellular animals such as parasitic helminth worms. They are transmitted from one individual to another by various routes or modes of transmission. Infectious agents must evade host defenses in order to multiply during an incubation period, after which the host may start to manifest disease. Many laboratory primates serve as experimental models for human diseases caused by infectious agents. Infectious agents are increasingly recognized alongside hunting and habitat loss as a major threat to wild primate populations.