Host tracing
Contents
Host - definition
A person or other living animal, including birds and arthropods, offers subsistence or lodging to an infectious agent under natural conditions. A transport host is a carrier in which the organism remains alive but does not undergo development.
A primary host is where a parasite reaches maturity or passes its sexual stage. A secondary host is where a parasite is in a larval or asexual stage.
When is host-tracing useful?
Host tracing has value in the following situations:
- When there is a reasonable suspicion that the host is still infectious. In such a situation, host tracing may allow effective prevention measures (isolation and/or treatment of the host) that reduce the risk of further transmission.
- To learn. For example, in case of communicable diseases that require timely host isolation and/or treatment, it may be relevant to learn why previous prevention measures failed.
References:
- David L. Heymann (editor). Control of Communicable Diseases Manual. APHA, 2008
FEM PAGE CONTRIBUTORS 2007
- Editor
- Arnold Bosman
- Contributors
- Arnold Bosman
