Chain of infection
The chain of infection , also called chain of infection , describes the path of transmission of a pathogen from one host to another.
The infected host is referred to as the donor, the not yet infected host as the recipient. The individual links in the chain of infection are called generations.
to form
The transmission of pathogens exclusively within one and the same species is called a homologous chain of infection; the special case of a homologous chain of infection in humans is known as anthroponosis . If, on the other hand, a pathogen is transmitted between two different species, one speaks of a heterologous chain of infection; if humans and at least one animal are involved in a heterologous chain of infections , it is called zoonosis . The chains of infection in plants are part of phytopathology .
Contact tracing and partner notification are used to interrupt the chain of infection in humans .
literature
- Susanne Modrow, Dietrich Falke , Uwe Truyen: Molecular Virology. An introduction for biologists and medical professionals. 2nd Edition. Spectrum textbook, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-8274-1086-X . (with references, English translation 2006) .
- David M. Knipe, Peter M. Howley, et al. (eds.): Fields' Virology . (2 volumes; standard work on virology) 5th edition, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia 2007, ISBN 978-0-7817-6060-7 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Gäumann E .: The chains of infection. In: Plant infection theory. Textbooks and monographs from the field of exact sciences, vol 3., Birkhäuser (Basel) 1951, page 117