• obligation to report

    definition

    The obligation to report means…

    Obligation to report dangerous diseases to the local health authorities or the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). An insight into the current distribution of diseases that require reporting to the authorities can be found in the RKI’s Epidemiological Bulletin. Cholera, the measles, and the plague are among the diseases with an obligation to report.

  • oncogene

    definition

    An oncogene is…

    Gene encoding the blueprint for a cancer-causing or cancer-promoting protein. In most cases, a mutant version of a gene regulating the cell cycle or controlling cellular growth.

  • opportunistic human pathogens

    definition

    Opportunistic human pathogens are…

    Organisms which are only pathogenic under certain circumstances. Healthy people with an intact immune system cannot get sick from them. Patients with a weakened immune system, however, cannot defend themselves sufficiently against these pathogens.

  • organic molecules

    definition

    Organic molecules are…

    With few exceptions, the compounds formed by the element carbon with itself and with other elements, specifically hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and the halogens. All biological building blocks are organic molecules.

  • oral vaccination

    definition

    Oral vaccination means…

    Orally administered vaccine. Most vaccines do not survive passage through the digestive tract, making only a handful of vaccines suitable for this type of administration. The most famous example of an oral vaccination is the polio vaccination, which helped eradicate the disease in Europe.

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