Infectious Diseases

An infectious disease can lead to severe, life-threatening symptoms. If you do experience such a disease, you’re in caring and capable hands at MUSC Health. Our infectious disease doctors strive to identify the source of the problem and deliver effective treatment to restore your well-being.

What is an Infectious Disease?

All of us are susceptible to infectious diseases, which include such things as chickenpox and the flu. An infection results from germs entering your body and causing symptoms. You can often get the treatments you need from your primary care doctor.

When an infection causes severe symptoms, such as a dangerously high fever, or when standard treatment is not successful, our infectious disease specialists are here for you.

Why Choose Us?

MUSC Health is home to doctors who are fully dedicated to diagnosing and treating infectious diseases. Our doctors have completed special training (fellowships) in infectious diseases. Many specialize in areas such as complex fevers, hepatitis C, tuberculosis or HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). 

Our experience means you receive a level of care that is not widely available in the Lowcountry, including:

•  A Precise Diagnosis: We use sophisticated equipment to accurately test for a broad range of conditions, using a sample of your blood. These capabilities help you receive care that meets your needs.
•  Hospital-Wide Prevention Efforts: Experts in infectious disease lead our efforts to protect all patients against infections during a hospital stay. This type of infectious disease is more common in people who need catheters (tubes to drain fluids from your body) or ventilators (machines that help you breathe). Our hands-on approach aims to minimize complications so you can focus on getting better.
•  Special Services for Patients in Our Care: We are one of only a few programs in the country where infectious disease doctors oversee services for hospital patients who need IV (intravenous) medications through their veins for long periods of time.
•  Specialized Care for Organ Transplant Recipients: MUSC Health is one of a few programs in South Carolina with expertise in meeting the unique needs of people who experience an infectious disease after an organ transplant. We tailor treatments to fight the infection while safeguarding the new organ. Learn more about the nationally recognized MUSC Health Transplant Center.
•  Antibiotic Safety: Antibiotics are a common infectious disease treatment, but taking the wrong type or too high a dose can harm your health. Through our antibiotic stewardship program, we work alongside other MUSC Health experts to share practices that lead to safer treatment with antibiotics.

Infectious Diseases We Treat

Our team’s experience helps you get exceptional care for a broad range of infectious diseases, including:

• Blood infections (sepsis)
• Bone and joint infections
• Clostridium difficile (C. diff)
• MUSC Ryan White HIV Clinic
• Hepatitis C
• Pneumonia
• Lyme disease
• Skin infections, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
• Tuberculosis

Services

We offer a broad range of services to prevent and treat infectious disease. Our team includes experts with decades of experience, so you receive the care that best meets your medical needs and personal preferences.

Our services include:

• HIV Testing: In 2012 MUSC Infectious Diseases began free confidential HIV testing. Please call 843-876-2905 to schedule a test or for more information. We use the Insti test that provides results in less than a minute.
• Complete Care for People Living with HIV: At the MUSC Ryan White HIV Clinic, you can trust our team to deliver many of the services you need, including primary care and treatment for HIV complications. We also help make your life a little easier with special services, including emotional support.
• Inpatient Diagnosis & Treatment: If you are in the hospital for another medical condition and experience the symptoms of an infectious disease, we are here for you any time of the day or night. We perform an evaluation and get you started on treatment as quickly as possible.
• Infectious Disease Clinic: We detect the early signs of an infectious disease and provide ongoing care in our dedicated clinic. We take time to get to know you, including important details about your health history, so we can tailor treatments to meet your needs.