The National Academies
What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease
Global Challenges
Infectious disease isn’t limited by national borders. Learn how our modern way of life contributes to the spread and emergence of disease.
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Disease Watchlist
What do you know about infectious disease?
Roughly how many microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract?
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
About ten trillion microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract. They are essential for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
About ten trillion microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract. They are essential for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
About ten trillion microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract. They are essential for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
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Correct!
About ten trillion microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract. They are essential for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Infectious Disease Defined
- Exoskeleton
An external skeleton that protects and supports an organism, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton.
National Academies Press
Search the National Academies Press website by selecting one of these related terms.
Source Material
- The Causes and Impacts of Neglected Tropical and Zoonotic Diseases: Opportunities for Integrated Intervention Strategies—Workshop Summary (2011)
- Infectious Disease Movement in a Borderless World—Workshop Summary (2010)
- Global Issues in Water, Sanitation, and Health—Workshop Summary (2009)
- Global Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events: Understanding the Contributions to Infectious Disease Emergence—Workshop Summary (2008)
- The Impact of Globalization on Infectious Disease Emergence and Control: Exploring the Consequences and Opportunities—Workshop Summary (2006)
- The Smallpox Vaccination Program: Public Health in an Age of Terrorism (2005)
