Serovar
Serovar
A serovar or serotype is a distinct variation within a species of bacteria or virus or among immune cells of different individuals. These microorganisms, viruses, or cells are classified together based on their cell surface antigens, allowing the epidemiologic classification of organisms to the subspecies level. A group of serovars with common antigens is called a serogroup or sometimes serocomplex.
Classification[edit | edit source]
Serovars are usually distinguished by a number and a letter, such as O157:H7. The "O" in this name refers to the cell wall antigen type and the "H" to the flagellar antigen. The numbers 157 and 7 are the specific identifiers of the antigens that determine this particular serovar.
Importance in Disease[edit | edit source]
Serovars can be important in diagnosing and treating disease. For example, the bacterium Salmonella enterica has over 2,500 serovars, some of which cause different types of illnesses. Serovar Typhi causes typhoid fever, while serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium cause food poisoning.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
| Serovar Resources | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| |
Navigation: Wellness - Encyclopedia - Health topics - Disease Index - Drugs - World Directory - Gray's Anatomy - Keto diet - Recipes
Search WikiMD
Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound) available.
Advertise on WikiMD
WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.
Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.
Translate this page: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
தமிழ்,
తెలుగు,
Urdu,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
বাংলা
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
Greek,
português do Brasil,
polski,
română,
русский,
Nederlands,
norsk,
svenska,
suomi,
Italian
Middle Eastern & African
عربى,
Turkish,
Persian,
Hebrew,
Afrikaans,
isiZulu,
Kiswahili,
Other
Bulgarian,
Hungarian,
Czech,
Swedish,
മലയാളം,
मराठी,
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ,
ગુજરાતી,
Portuguese,
Ukrainian
Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD
