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Horizontal Disease Transmission definitions

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  • Horizontal Transmission
    Transfer of pathogens between individuals in the same generation, involving direct or indirect pathways, not from parent to offspring.
  • Direct Contact
    Physical interaction with a reservoir, such as touching or shaking hands, enabling immediate pathogen transfer to a host.
  • Droplet Transmission
    Spread of pathogens via large respiratory droplets expelled by sneezing, coughing, or talking, requiring close proximity.
  • Reservoir
    Source or habitat where a pathogen normally lives and multiplies, serving as the origin for infection.
  • Portal of Entry
    Site on a susceptible host where a pathogen gains access, such as the eye, mouth, or skin.
  • Indirect Transmission
    Pathogen transfer involving an intermediary, such as air, objects, or living vectors, often with a delay.
  • Airborne Transmission
    Spread of pathogens through microscopic droplet nuclei that remain suspended in air, enabling long-distance infection.
  • Droplet Nuclei
    Tiny, airborne particles containing pathogens that can remain suspended for extended periods and travel far.
  • Vehicle-Borne Transmission
    Pathogen spread via nonliving objects like food, water, or fomites acting as intermediaries.
  • Fomite
    Any contaminated inanimate object or surface capable of transmitting infectious agents to a host.
  • Cross Contamination
    Accidental transfer of pathogens from one object or surface to another, creating new vehicles for infection.
  • Vector-Borne Transmission
    Spread of pathogens through living organisms, typically arthropods, that act as intermediaries between reservoir and host.
  • Mechanical Vector
    Living organism that passively transports pathogens without internal replication, simply carrying them from one place to another.
  • Biological Vector
    Living organism in which a pathogen replicates before being transmitted to a host, often essential for the pathogen's life cycle.
  • Zoonosis
    Infectious disease originating from a nonhuman animal reservoir, capable of being transmitted to humans.