secondary infection
secondary infection — noun
1. A secondary infection is a new infection that starts while a person already has
A secondary infection is a new infection that starts while a person already has another illness — the body's weaker defenses allow a different germ (bacteria, virus, or fungus) to make the person sick.
After a patient caught the flu, a secondary infection in the lungs made him much sicker.
shows cause-and-effect: flu weakens body → secondary infection follows
The nurse warned that scratching the chickenpox blisters could cause a secondary infection.
preventable: damaged skin allows germs to enter
Her immune system was so weak from chemotherapy that a secondary infection developed within days.
The doctor prescribed antibiotics to stop a secondary infection from spreading to the bloodstream.
People with diabetes often get a secondary infection after a small cut on their foot.
- superinfection
a more technical term, often used when a second infection arises during antibiotic treatment of the first
- opportunistic infection
specifically refers to infections that attack when the immune system is weak, such as in HIV or chemotherapy patients
文法句型
a secondary infection
develop a secondary infection
用法筆記
Common in medical contexts. Often used with verbs such as 'cause', 'develop', 'prevent', or 'treat' to describe how a new infection follows a primary illness. The primary illness does not have to be an infection — it can be any condition that weakens the body.