Vector Transmitted and Soilborne Diseases

Vectors

Live agents that transmit infectious diseases

Zoonosis

disease found primarily in animals but is transmissible to humans

Enzootic

present endemically in certain populations (geographic or seasonal)

Epizootic

an epidemic throughout a population

Reserviors

Sites where pathogens are normally maintained as a source of infection

Dead-end Host

Infects host and there is no more transmission

Rickettsias

Bacterial pathogen that is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects mammals through a vector.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Caused by Rickettsia rickettsii transmitted via a tick

Typhus

Caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, human to human transmission via head lice

Lyme Disease

Caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, spirochete, spread by the dear tick

Bubonic Plague

Caused by Yersinia pestis that is spread by fleas that are infected by infected rats and effects the lymph nodes

Pnuemonic Plague

Infection of the lungs via inhalation of aerosolized bacteria or progression of septicemic infections

Septicemic Plague

Bacterium spreads through bloodstream and tissue is damaged or develops necrosis.

Tetanus

Caused by Clostridium tetani, when spores germinate in deep puncture wounds.