bacterial infection

Cultural  

1. An infection caused by bacteria. The growth of many disease-causing bacteria can be halted by the use of antibiotics. (Compare viral infection.)

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Diseases caused by bacterial infections include diphtheria, gonorrhea, tuberculosis, and typhoid fever.

Example Sentences

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks, and affects an estimated 476,000 Americans each year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

A deadly virus and bacterial infection have killed at least 72 tigers at a private animal park in Thailand's north in recent weeks, authorities said.

From Barron's • Feb. 21, 2026

The study, published in Nature Chemical Biology, shows that an antibody created in the laboratory was able to eliminate a normally fatal bacterial infection in mice.

From Science Daily • Feb. 6, 2026

Her stomach issues also have not improved, and a doctor in Colombia has diagnosed her with a severe bacterial infection.

From Slate • Feb. 3, 2026

“He was a day away from a bacterial infection that would have stopped his heart,” I said.

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin