Which term refers to the process by which pathogens move between individuals?

• A. Transmission
• B. Infection
• C. Sterilization
• D. Cleaning

Answer: (A)

The question tests how we describe how diseases spread from one person to another. This movement of pathogens between people is called transmission. It covers the ways pathogens can reach new hosts, such as through direct contact, droplets from coughing or sneezing, airborne spread, contaminated surfaces, or bites from vectors. Once transmission occurs, infection may follow if the pathogen successfully invades and multiplies in the new host, but transmission itself is about the transfer between individuals. Sterilization and cleaning are methods to remove or kill microbes on surfaces or instruments and don’t describe the act of moving pathogens between people.