Infectious disease specialists
Infectious disease specialists (IDS) are medical doctors who focus on diagnosing, treating, and managing diseases caused by infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Typically, these specialists undergo extensive training—approximately eight to ten years—starting with internal medicine or pediatrics, followed by specialized education in areas like bacteriology, epidemiology, and immunology. Their expertise is crucial in managing complex infections, particularly when initial treatments fail or diagnoses are unclear.
IDS often work in hospital settings, collaborating closely with other healthcare professionals to address infections that may be difficult to identify or treat. They are also essential in advising public health initiatives, tracking the spread of infectious diseases, and guiding travelers on safety precautions and vaccinations specific to their destinations. Notably, the demand for infectious disease specialists has been rising, reflecting the growing challenges posed by emerging infectious diseases and global health issues, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant infections and other health risks, the role of IDS in both clinical and public health contexts is becoming increasingly vital.
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Infectious disease specialists
Definition
An infectious disease specialist (IDS) is generally a medical doctor who has trained in internal medicine (or possibly pediatrics) and who specializes in diagnosing, treating, and managing infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are those diseases that are passed from person to person and not those caused by genetic or environmental influences. Infectious diseases can be caused by bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions, or viruses.
Functions
An IDS usually has eight to ten years of specialized training beyond high school. This training focuses first on internal medicine and then on bacteriology, epidemiology, immunology, parasitology, and virology. After training, an IDS can then seek certification in internal medicine and infectious diseases by passing the examinations given by the American Board of Internal Medicine. The IDS performs diagnosis and medical treatment; they do not perform surgery.
An IDS studies how infectious diseases enter the body; how they spread through the body; how the body’s defenses fight different types of infection (immunology); what effect these infections have on the body and its systems; how antibiotics and other agents fight, control, or minimize the effects of the infection; and how infections spread throughout the general population or a specific population (epidemiology). An IDS has specific insight into the use or overuse of antibiotics and knows the potential adverse effects of such drugs and may help track and control difficult diseases such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and other antibiotic-resistant infections. An IDS has specialized knowledge that may also include helping persons with compromised immune systems, such as those with multiple sclerosis or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or those participating in chemotherapy.
The patients of an IDS may have diseases as widespread as influenza, malaria, measles, meningitis, mumps, and tuberculosis. Certain infections, such as measles or yellow fever, affect the entire body. However, other infections may affect only one organ or one system in the body. For example, the common cold usually affects only the upper respiratory tract. Other infectious diseases may affect only the digestive system, the urinary tract, or the ears. An IDS works to counteract the effects of these infections.
An IDS often works in a hospital setting, which allows for timely consultation with other doctors. An IDS is often called into cases in which an infection is suspected (usually from the presence of a fever) but in which the cause or source of that infection is unclear (even after testing and treatment). In this sense, an IDS becomes a sort of disease detective who may also be consulted when the disease is unusual, as when a doctor without detailed knowledge of infectious diseases faces, for example, a tropical disease in a nontropical area.
A pediatric IDS may work in a children’s hospital in conjunction with other types of pediatricians. Generally, a pediatric IDS treats children from birth through the teenage years and has further training in the unique signs, symptoms, and treatments involving children with infections (which can be quite different from the treatments for adults). An IDS may also assist public health organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in tracking and reporting infectious diseases and their spread.
Impact
Most often, infectious diseases are diagnosed and treated by primary care doctors. However, in cases in which the diagnosis is particularly difficult or if commonly prescribed treatments have failed, an IDS can be contacted for consultation.
An IDS also helps travelers prepare for their visits to countries known for certain infectious diseases, especially those not common in the United States. Before travel, travelers are informed about safe sanitation practices peculiar to that country and about certain recommended immunizations. Finally, an IDS interacts with public health agencies to track and control outbreaks of infections at both the local and global levels.
In 2008, there were 6,424 practicing infectious disease specialists in the United States. By 2018, that number had risen to 9,136, a 42 percent increase in ten years. However, around 80 percent of American counties still lacked an infectious disease specialist and the profession remained in a shortage. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for more infectious disease physicians in the United States as factors like climate change cause an increase in infectious diseases. However, only about half of all American infectious disease residency training programs were filled in 2023, continuing the decline. Advocates like the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) maintained efforts to increase the number of infectious disease specialists, but in 2024, shortages persisted.
Bibliography
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