Direct
Indirect
Airborne
Aerosol, Spray, or Spatter
Parenteral
Blood-Borne
Food and Water
Fecal-Oral
-coming in direct contact with the
infected blood or bodily fluid
-person-to-person contact
Ex) HIV, hepatitis, herpes, tuberculosis
-from contaminated objects or surfaces
-surface or object is first contaminated,
and you then contact the contaminated
item
Ex) contaminated countertops,
instruments
-inhaling
-droplets of moisture
-also called droplet transmission
Ex) contagious respiratory diseases
-blood, saliva, or nasal secretions
-sprayed or spattered via use of a
handpiece or scaler
-aerosols are the finest particles and
spatter are the largest particles
-aerosols cannot spread Hepatitis B or
HIV even if they are inhaled
-through the skin
-cuts or punctures
-transmission of blood-borne
pathogens
-carried in the blood and bodily fluids of
infected individuals
-spread through direct or indirect
contact
Ex) Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, HIV
-food or water contaminated with
human or animal fecal matter
Ex) tuberculosis, botulism and
staphylococcal/streptococcal infections
-direct or indirect contact with
contaminated surfaces
-common in daycare/health-care
workers
Ex) Hepatitis E (not common in
dentistry)
Created by Mary Clark, Dental Hygiene Peer Tutor
This handout is provided by the CLR.