Method of Transmission
Resources for Child Care Givers
Provided by All Family Resources

Editors List Spanish books.
Home   
Site Index  
Child Care Index  
CHILDHOOD DISEASES AND CONDITIONS
Method of Transmission

How Some Childhood Infectious Diseases Are Spread
Method of Transmission
Direct Contact
with infected person's skin or body fluid
Respiratory
Transmission
(passing from the lungs, throat, or nose of one person to another person through the air)
Fecal-Oral Transmission
(touching feces or objects contaminated with feces then touching your mouth)
Blood
Transmission
Chickenpox*
Cold Sores
Conjunctivitis
Head Lice
Impetigo
Ringworm
Scabies
Chickenpox*
Common Cold
Diphtheria
Fifth Disease
Bacterial meningitis*
Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease
Impetigo
Influenza*
Measles*
Mumps*
Pertussis*
Pneumonia
Rubella*
Campylobacter**
E. Coli O157**
Enterovirus
Giardia
Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease
Hepatitis A*
Infectious Diarrhea
Pinworms
Polio*
Salmonella**
Shigella
Cytomegalovirus
Hepatitis B*
Hepatitis C
HIV Infection
*Vaccines are available for preventing these diseases.
**Often transmitted from infected animals through foods or direct contact.

As the table shows,

  • Skin infections may be spread by touching fluid from another person’s infected sores.
  • Respiratory-tract infections with symptoms such as coughs, sneezes, and runny noses are spread mainly through exposure to fluids present in or expelled from another person’s mouth and throat (saliva or mucus), often when an uninfected person touches these discharges with their hands and then touches their mouth, eyes, or nose.
  • Intestinal tract infections, including some types of diarrhea, usually are spread through exposure to germs in the feces. Many of the germs discussed in this manual are spread through what is known as “fecal-oral” transmission. This means that germs leave the body of the infected person in the feces (poop) and enter the body of another person through the mouth. In most situations, this happens when objects (including toys, fingers, or hands) which have become contaminated with undetectable amounts of feces are placed in the mouth. Fecal-oral transmission can also occur if food or water is contaminated with undetectable amounts of human or animal feces, and then is eaten or drunk. Improperly prepared foods made from animals (for example, meat, milk, and eggs) are often the source of infection with Campylobacter, E.coli O157, and Salmonella. Graphic
  • Some infections, like infection with Salmonella and Campylobacter, may be spread through direct exposure to infected animals.
  • Blood infections are spread when blood (and sometimes other body fluids) from a person with an infection gets into the bloodstream of an uninfected person. This can happen when infected blood or body fluid enters the body of an uninfected person through cuts or openings in the skin; the mucous membrane that lines body cavities, such as the nose and eye; or directly into the bloodstream, as with a needle.
  • Some diseases, such as chickenpox, impetigo, and hand-foot-and mouth disease, can have more than one transmission route. For example, they may be spread through air or by direct contact with the infectious germ.
Note: This information is not intended to take the place of your state's or locality's child care regulations and laws. In every case, the laws and regulations of the city, county, and state in which the child care facility is located must be carefully followed even if they differ from these recommendations.

All Family Resources
Children / Teens
Literacy
Family Law
Aging / Seniors
Health / Fitness
FREE STUFF
Parents / Parenting
Careers
Money / Investing
En Espanol / In Spanish
Small Business
Relationships
For the Spirit
Safety
Nutrition / Recipies

Copyright 1999 All Family Resources. All rights reserved.
Terms of use