Redundant terminology in infectious diseases: more than a harmless misnomer?

By
Enrico Schalk
October 7, 2026

Infection

At a Glance

Category	Detail
Condition	Precision and redundancy in infectious-disease terminology
Key Mechanisms	The authors define infection as microorganisms entering and multiplying within body tissues, while distinguishing it from colonization. They argue that “invasive fungal infection” is redundant under this definition, while acknowledging debate over whether invasiveness describes the infection or the pathogen.
Target Population	Not specified; the article addresses terminology in infectious-disease practice and medical publishing.
Care Setting	Not specified; the discussion concerns clinical terminology, antimicrobial stewardship, and manuscript peer review.

Key Highlights

The authors argue that “invasive fungal infection” is a misnomer because invasiveness is not unique to fungal infections and, under their definition, all infections involve invasion.
The authors distinguish infection from colonization and note that colonization does not denote actual invasion of the body.
They say “invasive infection” may convey severity, threat, depth, dissemination, systemic involvement, or difficulty of treatment, and suggest describing intended features directly.
The authors state that pathogen detection alone does not invariably warrant treatment and give distinguishing asymptomatic bacteremia from symptomatic bloodstream infection as an example of precise terminology.
The authors call for greater attention to terminology in clinical medicine and manuscript peer review.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

Distinguish infection from colonization, as the authors propose.
Describe intended features such as severity, dissemination, or depth directly when relevant, rather than relying on “invasive” alone.
The authors give the distinction between asymptomatic bacteremia and symptomatic bloodstream infection as an example of precise terminology.

Management

The authors state that pathogen detection alone does not invariably warrant treatment; interpret detection in context.
The authors suggest describing the pathogen or infection more precisely to help prevent overtreatment or inappropriate treatment.

Monitoring & Follow-up

Not discussed in the source.

Risks

The authors warn that imprecise or redundant terminology may produce misinterpretation.
They state that more precise terminology may help prevent overtreatment or inappropriate treatment.

Patient & Prescribing Data

Not specified; the article discusses terminology across infectious diseases.

No specific drug regimens are provided. The authors state that pathogen detection alone does not invariably warrant treatment and emphasize distinguishing colonization from infection.

Clinical Best Practices

The authors suggest using precise terms to distinguish colonization from infection.
Describe the pathogen’s characteristics separately from the features of the infection it causes, as the authors propose.
State intended infection features directly, such as severity, dissemination, or depth.
The authors call for careful terminology in clinical communication, antimicrobial stewardship, and manuscript peer review.