Infection Control - Routes of Transmission worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s match each route of transmission with its correct definition.

We have 5 terms on the left:
1. Direct Contact
2. Indirect Contact
3. Airborne
4. Foodborne Transmission
5. Vector-borne Transmission

And 5 definitions on the right (in order from top to bottom):

A. “spread of infection by animals or insects that carry an organism from one person or place to another to another without an intermediary”
B. “spreading of an infectious agent through droplets or dust”
C. “transmitted from one person to another without an intermediary”
D. “transmitted from one person to another through an inanimate object”
E. “contamination of food or water with an organism that can cause disease”

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Step-by-step matching:

1. Direct Contact → This means direct physical contact between people — like touching, kissing, or sexual contact. No middleman. So it matches:
→ C. “transmitted from one person to another without an intermediary”

2. Indirect Contact → This is when you get infected by touching something an infected person touched — like a doorknob, towel, or utensil. That’s an “inanimate object.” So it matches:
→ D. “transmitted from one person to another through an inanimate object”

3. Airborne → This refers to germs traveling through the air — like in droplets from coughs/sneezes or tiny dust particles. So it matches:
→ B. “spreading of an infectious agent through droplets or dust”

4. Foodborne Transmission → Clearly about getting sick from contaminated food or water. So it matches:
→ E. “contamination of food or water with an organism that can cause disease”

5. Vector-borne Transmission → Vectors are animals or insects (like mosquitoes, ticks, fleas) that carry diseases from one host to another. So it matches:
→ A. “spread of infection by animals or insects that carry an organism from one person or place to another to another without an intermediary”

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Final Matching:

- Direct Contact → C
- Indirect Contact → D
- Airborne → B
- Foodborne Transmission → E
- Vector-borne Transmission → A

Final Answer:
Direct Contact – C; Indirect Contact – D; Airborne – B; Foodborne Transmission – E; Vector-borne Transmission – A