The four primary methods of disease transmission are as easy to remember as ABCD:

A) Airborne Transmission

Airborne germs can travel great distances through the air and infect people who breathe the germs in. Examples of diseases that are airborne are:

i) Tuberculosis

ii) Chickenpox

iii) Measles

B) Bloodborne Transmission

This occurs when the blood of an infected person comes in contact with the bloodstream of another person, allowing germs to enter the second individual’s bloodstream. Blood and bloodborne germs are sometimes present in smaller amounts in other body fluids, such as urine, feces, saliva, and vomit. Examples of diseases that are bloodborne are:

1) HIV/Aids

2) Hepatitis B and C

C) Contact Transmission

Certain germs can be transmitted by direct contact (e.g. touching an infected individual) or indirect contact (e.g. touching an object previously handled by an infected individual). Examples of diseases caused by contact are:

i) Conjunctivitis

ii) Scabies

iii) Wound infections

iv) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

D) Droplet Transmissions

Some germs can travel short distances (usually no more than three feet) through the air and rely upon respiratory droplets (i.e. those distributed through actions like sneezing, coughing, and talking) to spread. Examples of diseases caused by droplet germs are:

i) Flu

ii) Pneumonia

iii) Coronavirus (SARS & COVID-19)

Learn More

To learn how you can prevent infections for yourself and your loved ones or the people that you serve, be it in Homecare, Childcare, Long Term Care or other Service sector, enroll in one of our Classroom or Online courses.

Did you know Nursing Homes are especially prone to outbreaks of infection more than other settings? This is because the residents, who are often debilitated and with poor underlying medical conditions are more susceptible to healthcare-associated infections. Nursing Homes may potentially be a hotbed of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) due to overcrowding and understaffing of trained staff.
Infection control is often under-emphasized in Nursing Homes due in part to the lack of dedicated infection control staff and optimal staffing.

STS Academia with a strong background in infection control and healthcare quality can help Long-term Care Facilities, such as nursing homes and Senior Care centers strengthen their infection prevention and control in two ways:

1. First, by providing training on infection control for all their front-line staff to equip them with the basic knowledge and skills of infection prevention and control.

2. Second, by providing an independent onsite audit of the facilities aim at improving their infection prevention and control practices in key areas of their operations.