👉 In the context of medicine, virulence refers to the ability of a pathogen to cause disease or infection. This term is used in the study and diagnosis of infectious diseases, where it helps identify which organisms are most likely to be involved in a particular infection. It can be defined as the degree to which an organism's genetic material contains the genes necessary for replication and spread, making it more susceptible to infection by other pathogens. Virulence factors may include the ability of an organism to invade cells,
