Medical Term:
autoinfection
Pronunciation: aw′tō-in-fek′shŭn
Definition:
- Reinfection by microbes or parasitic organisms that have already passed through an infective cycle.
- Self-infection by direct contagion, as with pinworm (Enterobius vermicularis) eggs passed in the infectious state and transmitted by fingernails (anal-oral route).
Synonym(s): autoreinfection, self-infection
