Assignment 12B Preventing the spread of disease:
Direct Contact:
There are two types of direct human to human contact. Horizontal and vertical.
Horizontal: Horizontal transmission includes human to human physical contact, it includes:
Touching, kissing, sexual contact and mixing of bodily fluids.
A disease that is spread by touching is chicken pox. Chicken pox is spread from person to person
by touching the blisters or mucus of an infected person. However dry and crusted blisters do not
have the ability to transmit the disease from one person to another. The disease is transmitted if a
person touches an infected persons blisters and then puts that finger in their mouth, causing serious
consequences and chicken pox.
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A disease that is spread by kissing is glandular fever which is caused by the virus Epstein-Barr
virus (EBV). This disease is caused by the virus which is transmitted from one person to another
through saliva. This disease normally occurs when people kiss due to the exchange of saliva from an
infected person to the other, where the virus is transmitted, however a person can only be infected
by this disease if saliva is transmitted through kissing.
2
A disease that is transmitted by sexual contact is gonorrhoea, which is an STD, it can occur in
both males and females. Gonorrhoea is transmitted between people through unprotected sex or
sharing sex toys that have not been cleaned or used with new condoms each time they are used. The
bacteria infects the cervix (entrance to the womb), the urethra (tube that passes urine out of the
body) and the rectum. Gonorrhoea can also be transmitted to the throat and the eyes by the
bacteria getting to them by direct contact however this is much less common.
Gonorrhoea can be transmitted from one host to another by sexual contact with the penis, vagina,
mouth or anus of infected person. For gonorrhoea to be transmitted a person does not have to
ejaculate, sexual contact with specific body parts is usually how the pathogen can be transmitted. It
is also transmitted from mother to baby through breast feeding through the Brest milk from a
mother who has gonorrhoea.1
3
A disease that is transmitted by the mixing or exchange of bodily fluids is HIV. HIV is a virus
that attacks cells that protect the body against infections. HIV is found and transmitted through
certain body fluids which include (blood, semen, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids and breast milk). HIV is
transmitted through these bodily fluids if there is an excess amount of the virus which is then passed
into the blood stream of another person through cuts, open sores or to another person who does
not have HIV symptoms.
4
Vertical:
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Vertical transmission is the transmission of a pathogen from a mother to her baby right
after birth or right before. This disease can be passed on across the placenta or in breast milk. An
example of a vertical disease that is transmitted from a mother to her baby through placenta or in
breast milk is the Zika virus. The zika virus is initially passed to the human from infected mosquitoes
and then passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus which directly effects the baby.
The zika virus can be transmitted in multiple ways from humans to humans, this includes through sex
and from a mother to her baby fetus. Zika virus can be transmitted during vaginal and oral sex or the
sharing of sexual toys from a person who has the virus to a non-infected person. Zika can also enter
new hosts for example from a mother to her fetus during pregnancy.
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1
1
https://www.cdc.gov/std/gonorrhea/stdfact-gonorrhea-detailed.htm
, https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/chickenpox/fact_sheet.htm
2
https://www.mydr.com.au/kids-teens-health/glandular-fever
3
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gonorrhoea/
4
https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/transmission.html#how-is-HIV-passed
5
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=7982
6
https://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/index.html
Animal to Human/animal contact:
The transmission that occurs between animal and humans is called zoonotic transmission(zoonosis),
They are generally transmitted from animals to humans by a person encountering the bodily fluids of
an infected animal such as saliva, blood and urine. An example of a disease that is transmitted from
animals to humans is Salmonella. Salmonella is normally transmitted by handling reptiles that carry
salmonella which then are transmitted to humans through cutes sores and open wounds.
Another way that transmission of diseases can occur between animals and humans Is through
animal bites. When an infected animal bites a human the source of infection usually comes from oral
flora of the animal’s mouth where bacteria and other microorganisms normally inhibit. When an
animal bites a human the saliva containing microorganisms is transferred into the bloodstream
where the disease develops and infects the person. 2 An example of a disease that is transferred
through animal bites is rabies, rabies is transmitted through animal bites. When an animal (e.g dog)
bites a human the saliva of the animal is inserted into the bloodstream where it travels to the brain
and multiplies causing inflammation.3
Indirect Contact:
This transmission when there is no direct human contact, this could occur from infectious droplets in
the air which are inhaled by healthy people making them at risk of becoming ill and infected by the
disease.
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Fomite transmission (transmission from surfaces) is a type of an indirect transmission.
Verruca’s is a type of fomite transmission, verruca’s come about from virus that are spread from
dirty and contaminated surfaces. Verruca’s are more likely to develop if the skin is wet, they can take
months to develop after the virus has come into contact with the skin, in this period the person will
not detect any symptoms. Verruca's can be spread to new hosts through contact with surfaces that
an infected person has been in contact with spreading the virus to this surface. It can also new hosts
through direct contact with the skin, for example an infected person direct contact with an un-
infected patient transmitting the disease to the new host.
2
https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/home/decision-support-in-medicine/infectious-diseases/bites-
including-human-and-animal/
3
https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/transmission/body.html
