Mechanism of transmit - Essay Example

Transmission Mechanisms Affiliation Transmission mechanisms Introduction Transmission mechanism refers to a medium through which an infectious agent spreads into the human body from an external source. Infectious agents are mainly pathogenic microorganisms that invade body tissues, resulting in diseases. The infectious agents include viruses and bacteria. For an infection to or, there must be a source and a host. The three main transmission mechanisms are direct transmission, indirect transmission, and airborne transmission (Shors, 2009).

DiscussionDirect transmissionIt is a transmission mechanism which involves touching. The transfer agent gets into the human body through physical contact. Physical contact includes actions like kissing and sexual intercourse. Other times the contact may not be a person to person and could be in the form of particles or droplets getting into the human eye or nose (McKenzie, 2014). Indirect transmissionIt is a type of a transmission mechanism where a vector introduces the agents of infection into the body.

A vector refers to a living organism that transmits an infection from the reservoir to the host. In indirect transmission, there is no physical contact. Such vectors include insects like ticks and mosquitoes (Shors, 2009). Airborne transmissionIt is a type of transmission mechanism where droplets or particles suspended in the air and contain the pathogenic microorganisms enter the body mainly through the respiratory tract. Such particles remain suspended in the air for long periods, therefore only suitable for pathogens that can survive for long periods outside the body.

An example of such a disease is tuberculosis (McKenzie, 2014).ConclusionMechanisms of transmission are dependent on the host, the environment, and the contact. While some mechanisms are suitable for dusty environment, other forms thrive more in dump conditions. For a transmission to occur there must be some form of contact, whether direct or indirect. Transmission mechanisms are direct, indirect, and airborne, depending on the nature of the contact. ReferencesShors, T. (2009). Understanding viruses (p.168). Sudbury, Mass.

: Jones and Bartlett.McKenzie, J., & Pinger, R. (2014). Foundations of Community and Public Health. In An introduction to community health (3rd ed., p.110). Boston, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett.