secondary infection

[ sek-uhn-der-ee in-fek-shuhn ]

noun

, Medicine/Medical, Pathology.

1. an infection occurring in an area of the body that already has or has recently had an infection:

   After recovering from the flu, she developed a secondary infection in her lungs that is being treated with antibiotics.

2. an infection occurring in an area of the body following trauma or severe damage: The gunshot did not hit a vital organ, but he died from a secondary infection in the wound.

   His leg was so severely burned that it quickly developed secondary infections.

   The gunshot did not hit a vital organ, but he died from a secondary infection in the wound.

Word History and Origins

Origin of secondary infection¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

Scratching can cause secondary infection and prolong the irritation.

From Los Angeles Times

Officials said it was possible that some visitors may have passed the virus on through secondary infection.

From BBC

If your symptoms don’t improve after several days, or improve and then regress, it could be a sign you have a secondary infection such as pneumonia, Casto said.

From Seattle Times

Markowski said scratching can cause secondary infection and prolong the irritation.

From Los Angeles Times

This “immune amnesia” can render someone vulnerable for months or even years, and helps explain why some people infected with measles die from a secondary infection — and why the world saw a puzzling drop in rates of deaths from a range of other conditions after measles vaccination became commonplace.

From Seattle Times