Compared with direct transmission, diseases spread by indirect transmission can live for long periods away from a host.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Sometimes
• D. Not specified

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that indirect transmission allows pathogens to persist outside the body, often in the environment, for longer periods than direct transmission. When a disease can spread via surfaces (fomites), water, food, soil, or vectors, the pathogen can survive without a host and remain capable of causing infection later. Environmental protection and varying conditions mean some organisms stay infectious for hours, days, or longer, so transmission isn’t limited to the moment of contact. That’s why this statement is true: indirect routes enable longer survival away from a host. False wouldn’t fit because persistence outside the host is a well-established feature of indirect transmission, not a universal impossibility; “sometimes” and “not specified” aren’t as accurate given the general propensity for environmental persistence in many pathogens.