Glossary

fungus (fungi) – parasitic organisms that include moulds, mildews, mushrooms and yeast.

type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) – an illness that usually affect adults (previously called adult-onset diabetes), when glucose levels increase because the body does not produce enough insulin or does not respond well to insulin.

immune system – the system that your body uses to fight infections.

tropism – the type of coreceptor used by HIV in order to attach to and then infect a cell. If HIV uses the CCR5 coreceptor on the surface of the a CD4 cell it is called R5-tropic. If it uses the CXCR4 co receptor it is called R4-tropic). Early HIV infection is usually R5-tropic but over time, especially in late disease (if CD4 counts drop to less than 50 cells/mm3) the virus shifts to being X4-tropic.  Mixed tropic refers to a having some viruses that use R5 and some that use X4.

chorioamnionitis is an inflammation of the membranes that surround the foetus (called the chorion and the amnion). Chorioamnionitis is usually caused by a bacterial infection.