- "transmission is the passing of a pathogen causing communicable disease from an infected host individual or group to a particular individual or group"
The methods through which infectious diseases are spread, including direct contact, airborne transmission, droplet transmission, and vector-borne transmission.
Transmission routes: The ways in which infectious diseases can be spread from one person to another, including respiratory droplets, contact with bodily fluids, contaminated food or water, and vectors (such as ticks or mosquitoes).
Host immune responses: How the body's immune system defends against infectious agents and how certain diseases can evade or weaken the immune system.
Epidemiology: The study of the patterns and distribution of infectious diseases in populations, including risk factors, incidence rates, and the development of outbreaks and pandemics.
Disease diagnosis: The tools and techniques used to identify infectious diseases through laboratory testing, physical examination, and medical history.
Treatment options: The various antiviral, antibacterial, and other medications used to treat infectious diseases and prevent their spread.
Public health interventions: Strategies and programs that can be implemented to control or prevent the spread of infectious diseases, including vaccination, isolation and quarantine, and public health education campaigns.
Zoonotic diseases: Infectious diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, and the potential risks associated with wildlife and domestic animal contact.
Emerging infectious diseases: Newly identified or re-emerging diseases that pose a threat to public health, such as Zika virus, Ebola virus, and coronavirus.
Surveillance and reporting: Methods for monitoring and tracking infectious diseases at the national and international level, including reporting systems, disease registries, and disease surveillance networks.
Infection control practices: Measures used to prevent the spread of infectious agents in healthcare settings and other public environments, such as proper hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, and environmental sanitation.
Airborne: Airborne transmission occurs when an infected person coughs or sneezes, releasing respiratory droplets into the air that can be breathed in by others. Examples of airborne diseases include tuberculosis and chickenpox.
Waterborne: Waterborne transmission occurs when a person ingests contaminated water or food that has been contaminated with fecal matter. Diseases transmitted via this route include cholera and hepatitis A.
Vector-borne: Vector-borne transmission occurs when a disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected insect or animal. Examples of vector-borne diseases include malaria and Lyme disease.
Sexual: Sexual transmission occurs when a person engages in sexual activity with an infected partner. Examples of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) include HIV and gonorrhea.
Contact: Contact transmission occurs when a person comes into direct contact with an infected person, object, or surface. This can be through touching, kissing, or sharing objects such as towels or utensils. Examples of diseases transmitted through contact include MRSA and the common cold.
Foodborne: Foodborne transmission occurs when a person consumes food that has been contaminated with infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses or parasites. Examples of foodborne diseases include salmonella and E. coli.
Fecal-oral: Fecal-oral transmission occurs when an infected person's fecal matter is ingested by another person, often through contaminated food or water. Examples of diseases transmitted through this route include hepatitis A and norovirus.
Perinatal: Perinatal transmission occurs when a pregnant woman passes an infection on to her baby during delivery or through breastfeeding. Examples include HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis.
- "airborne transmission – very small dry and wet particles that stay in the air for long periods of time" - "droplet transmission – small and usually wet particles that stay in the air for a short period of time" - "direct physical contact – touching an infected individual, including sexual contact" - "indirect physical contact – usually by touching a contaminated surface, including soil (fomite)" - "fecal–oral transmission – usually from unwashed hands, contaminated food or water sources due to lack of sanitation and hygiene" - "via contaminated hypodermic needles or blood products"
- "Particle size < 5 μm"
- "Particle size > 5 μm"
- "touching an infected individual, including sexual contact"
- "usually by touching a contaminated surface, including soil (fomite)"
- "usually from unwashed hands, contaminated food, or water sources due to lack of sanitation and hygiene, an important transmission route in pediatrics, veterinary medicine, and developing countries"
- "via contaminated hypodermic needles or blood products"
- "Transmission can also be indirect, via another organism, either a vector (e.g. a mosquito or fly) or an intermediate host (e.g. tapeworm in pigs can be transmitted to humans who ingest improperly cooked pork)"
- "Indirect transmission could involve zoonoses"
- "more typically, larger pathogens like macroparasites with more complex life cycles"
- "Transmissions can be autochthonous (i.e. between two individuals in the same place)"
- "may involve travel of the microorganism or the affected hosts"