Differentiate between environmentally spread diseases and diseases that are spread from person to person.
By "environmentally," is it referring to food, water, and the environment or merely the environment?
The environment includes water, soil, plants, and air. Of course everything around us is part of the environment.
Which is it refrering to, though?
*referring
Please read the site I posted for you about environmental spread of disease.
I did. However, I am uncertain of what it it is referring to, as my textbook provides a section in which discusses how diseases can be spread by the mere environment.
Then use what is in your textbook.
When it comes to differentiating between environmentally spread diseases and diseases that are spread from person to person, it is important to consider the modes of transmission.
1. Environmentally spread diseases:
These diseases are typically transmitted through exposure to contaminated food, water, or the general environment. Examples of environmentally spread diseases include:
- Waterborne diseases: These are caused by consuming contaminated water, such as cholera or typhoid fever.
- Foodborne diseases: These are caused by consuming contaminated food, such as Salmonella or E. coli infections.
- Vector-borne diseases: These are transmitted by insects or other vectors, such as malaria (transmitted by mosquitoes) or Lyme disease (transmitted by ticks).
It's worth noting that some environmentally spread diseases can also have person-to-person transmission under specific circumstances. For example, if a person with a foodborne illness contaminates food or water that others consume, it can lead to person-to-person transmission.
2. Diseases spread from person to person:
These diseases are transmitted directly or indirectly from an infected person to a healthy individual. There are several modes of person-to-person transmission, including:
- Direct contact: This occurs when an infected person's bodily fluids (such as respiratory droplets, blood, or saliva) come into contact with a susceptible person's mucous membranes or broken skin. Examples include the flu, COVID-19, or sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
- Indirect contact: This occurs when a susceptible person touches contaminated surfaces or objects and then touches their face or mouth, allowing the pathogen to enter their body. Examples include the common cold or norovirus.
- Airborne transmission: This occurs when infectious droplets or fine particles containing pathogens remain suspended in the air for an extended period and are inhaled by a healthy individual. Examples include tuberculosis or measles.
To summarize, environmentally spread diseases are primarily transmitted through contaminated food, water, or the general environment, while diseases spread from person to person are transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an infected individual. However, it's important to note that some diseases can have transmission routes that overlap between these two categories.