opportunistic infection

American  

[ahp-er-too-nis-tik-in-fek-shuhn] / ɑp ər tuˈnɪs tɪk ɪnˈfɛk ʃən /

noun

1. Pathology. an infection developed from a microorganism that normally is not pathogenic but can become so when present in someone whose immune system is weakened, as by cancer, HIV, or any sort of medically induced immunosuppression.

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opportunistic infection Scientific  

/ ŏp′ər-to̅o̅-nĭs′tĭk /

1. An infection by a microorganism that normally does not cause disease but does so when lowered resistance to infection is caused by the impairment of the body's immune system.

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opportunistic infection Cultural  

1. An infection caused by a microorganism that under normal conditions would not bring about disease. Opportunistic infections occur when the body's immune system is weakened by disease or malnutrition. (See AIDS.)

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Example Sentences

Yet in medicine, Aspergillus is known as the cause of an opportunistic infection spawned when a compromised human immune system cannot sweep away its spores.

From Scientific American • May 18, 2021

At the same time, though, some research hinted that a single, strenuous workout might temporarily diminish our immune responses soon afterward, putting us at heightened risk for an opportunistic infection after the workout.

From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2020

Cytomegalovirus, another opportunistic infection, left people blind and demented.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 26, 2016

TB is the most common opportunistic infection affecting HIV-positive people.

From Washington Post • Feb. 12, 2016

It does not matter if they don't yet have a tumor, or fibroid, or opportunistic infection; if they don't already have something of that nature they soon will.

From How and When to Be Your Own Doctor by Solomon, Steve