Infectious Disease (ID) Physicians specialize in managing complicated infections including septicemia, fever of unknown origin, infective endocarditis, osteomyelitis, meningitis, brain abscess, complicated pneumonias and urinary tract infections, prosthetic infections, and hospital acquired infections. They manage infections in immunocompromised hosts such as patients with HIV/AIDS, bone marrow and solid organ transplants.  In addition, ID physicians treat infections of public health significance ranging from SARS and tuberculosis to typhoid, cholera, dengue fever and sexually transmitted diseases.  As a result, ID physicians play a pivotal role in outbreak investigations. ID physicians also provide pre-travel vaccinations and prophylaxis as well as treatment of post-travel health issues, and are actively involved in formulating hospital antibiotic usage guidelines, infection control policies, and managing outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy.  Infectious Diseases is a subspecialty of Internal Medicine.