How is a disease spread?

Answer 1

A disease can spread through cross infection or when through the different modes of transmission. This could be airborne, through direct contact, through droplet inhalation or through contact with secretions of bodily fluids of the infected individual.

Answer 2

People keep telling you to wash you hands to prevent picking up diseases from objects that are contaminated. But how do they become contaminated? They become contaminated through a process called shedding.

Viral shedding refers to the successful reproduction, expulsion, and host-cell infection caused by virus progeny. Once replication has been completed and the host cell is exhausted of all resources in making viral progeny, the viruses begin to leave the cell.

The term is used to refer to shedding from a single cell, shedding from one part of the body into another part of the body, and shedding from bodies into the environment where the viruses may infect other bodies. The same term "shedding" applies to bacterial shedding but the process is different.

The virus or bacteria could be in the skin being shed, in the feces, urine, any infected mucous (vaginal, sweat, saliva, tears, nasal, pus from sores) hair, lungs - coughing etc. Whereever the shed virus or bacteria happens to be such such as in the air through a cough or where it touches down it has the potential to infect someone else depending on the life span of what has been shed. In some cases it can be for days such as in c.difficile. This could potentially be dangerous to everyone but especially the immune suppressed, very young and aged.

The hands are the usual transfer agent of these viruses or bacteria that cause illness. When a person is very ill the toilet, sink and tub should be sterilized after each use (spray bottle with a bleach mixture will do in most cases), paper towels should be used to dry hands and then thrown away directly into a plastic bag. Towels and bedding should be washed in hot water and bleached, personal clothing especially underwear should be washed separately from other family members clothing and bleached. Regular hand washing is absolutely necessary for everyone but especially on the part of care-givers and those that are ill. Thorough cleaning of the bathrooms, kitchens, fridges, the bedroom after a serious illness should take place to prevent reinfection. Dishes should always be washed in a dishwasher or with hot soapy water and rinsed with bleach in the water. Sterilize toothbrushes daily. Avoid touching your eyes - disease spreads easily through the eyes. Cover your mouth when coughing!

People who are severely ill should self-isolate to avoid spreading the illness especially when there are superbugs such as MRSA and VRE. There are some untreatable forms of bacteria now, one of them being a type of tuberculosis. Most importantly stay away from public pools, restaurants, places where many people congregate until you are well.

Commonly shed viruses easily transferred from one person to another are cold & flu viruses, chickenpox, Hepatitis A&B, mononucleosis, herpes simplex A&B, herpes zoster (shingles), mumps, Norwalk virus, papilloma virus, polo virus, smallpox, pseudomonas, monkey viruses, viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, staph and strep.|

A few of the commonly shed bacteria are escheria (virus of the intestines E.coli most common), plague, salmonella, typhoid fever, botulism, cholera, dysentery, Legionnaires Disease, Swimmer's Ear, pink eye. Athlete's Foot and Ringworm are fungi that are easily transmitted from person to person.

Additionally parasitic and protozoa infections can be spread between humans. A few include giardia, amoebiasis, cryptosporidiosis, worms, crabs, scabies, lice, bedbugs.

Even though you may be taking antibiotics or think you have recovered from a serious viral illness in some cases you are still infectious for days and in some cases weeks afterward even though you appear to be well.

To give you an idea of how much shedding occurs studies have show that staff who are working in an operating room shed about 10,000 skin cells per minute, of which it is estimated 10% carry bacterial clusters. Keep in mind that staff in operating rooms are clean and covered with masks, gloves, long pants, etc. and they are not allowed to work if ill.

Answer 3

i believe that a disease cant spread because it is not contagious

Answer 4

when you touch something or some one.