EpidemiologyLesson 3 of 4 in the course Disease and Epidemiology

Disease Reservoirs, Transmission Routes, Vectors, and Infection Control

5 flashcards · 4 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Pathogens persist in places called reservoirs and must eventually move from a reservoir to a susceptible host. This lesson introduces living and nonliving reservoirs, host roles in parasite life cycles, and the distinction between passive and active carriers.

A reservoir is the normal site where a pathogen lives or persists over time. Reservoirs may be living organisms or nonliving parts of the environment. Soil and water can naturally harbor microorganisms, or they can become contaminated by human waste, infected animals, or the remains of hosts.

All flashcards

What is a reservoir?
A living organism or nonliving site where a pathogen normally resides or persists over time.
What is a passive carrier?
An individual contaminated with a pathogen who can transfer it but is not infected.
What is an active carrier?
An infected individual who can transmit a pathogen, whether or not symptoms are present.
What is an asymptomatic carrier?
An infected active carrier who can transmit a pathogen but has no signs or symptoms.
How do definitive and intermediate hosts differ?
A parasite reaches sexual maturity in its definitive host; an intermediate host supports immature stages or asexual reproduction.

Quiz questions

  1. How can Clostridium tetani persist in soil?Answer: By forming resistant endospores that survive unfavorable conditions.
  2. What distinguishes a mechanical vector from a biological vector?Answer: A mechanical vector transfers a pathogen without being infected by it.
  3. In the terminology used here, what distance defines droplet transmission?Answer: Droplets reach another person over one meter or less.
  4. How do quarantine and isolation differ?Answer: Quarantine separates people possibly exposed; isolation separates people known or suspected to be infected.

Based on Microbiology by Nina Parker, Mark Schneegurt, Anh-Hue Thi Tu, Philip Lister, Brian M. Forster (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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