A disease vector is defined as ______.

A disease vector is defined as ______.

• A. Organism that transmits a disease
• B. Symptom of a disease
• C. An environmental condition associated with a disease
• D. A test used for diagnosing diseases

Answer: (A)

A vector in public health is the living organism that transmits a pathogen from one host to another. It’s not the pathogen itself, not a symptom, not an environmental condition, and not a diagnostic test. The vector enables the spread of disease by carrying the pathogen between individuals or populations—for example, mosquitoes transmitting malaria or dengue, and ticks transmitting Lyme disease. This concept distinguishes transmission agents from symptoms (what the patient feels), from environmental factors that influence risk, or from tools used to diagnose disease. So the correct idea is that a disease vector is an organism that transmits the disease.

A vector in public health is the living organism that transmits a pathogen from one host to another. It’s not the pathogen itself, not a symptom, not an environmental condition, and not a diagnostic test. The vector enables the spread of disease by carrying the pathogen between individuals or populations—for example, mosquitoes transmitting malaria or dengue, and ticks transmitting Lyme disease. This concept distinguishes transmission agents from symptoms (what the patient feels), from environmental factors that influence risk, or from tools used to diagnose disease. So the correct idea is that a disease vector is an organism that transmits the disease.