NOCTI Healthcare Core Practice Test

These terms describe how infections spread from one person to another. Direct transmission means the pathogen moves straight from an infected person to a new host through contact, such as touching or intimate contact. Indirect transmission occurs when the pathogen is transferred via an intermediate object or organism, like a contaminated surface or a vector. Droplet transmission involves larger respiratory droplets expelled during coughing, sneezing, or talking that travel a short distance and contact mucous membranes. Airborne transmission involves small particles that can linger in the air and travel longer distances, potentially infecting people farther away. The other options refer to different aspects: a portal of entry is how the pathogen enters the body, reservoirs are where the pathogen lives and multiplies, and a susceptible host is someone who lacks immunity or defenses to the pathogen.