Portals of Entry

 1. Mucus Membranes (Respiratory Tract, Gastrointestinal Tract,

 2. Skin

 3. Parentarel
 Mucus Membranes
 Respiratory Tract
• Microbes inhaled into the mouth or nose in droplets of moisture or dust
particles
• It is the easiest and most frequently traveled portal of entry
 Common Diseases contracted via the Respiratory Tract
 Common cold
 Flu
 Tuberculosis
 Whooping cough
 Pneumonia
 Measles
 Diphtheria
 Mucus Membranes
 Gastrointestinal Tract (G.I.T)
• Microbes gain entrance through contaminated food & water or fingers & hands.
• Most microbes that enter the G.I. Tract are destroyed by HCL & enzymes of
stomach or bile & enzymes of small intestine
 Common diseases contracted via the G.I.T.
• Salmonellosis - Salmonella sp.
• Shigellosis - Shigella sp.
• Cholera - Vibrio cholorea
• Ulcers - Helicobacter pylori
• Botulism - Clostridium botulinum
Fecal - Oral Diseases
• These pathogens enter the G.I. Tract at one end and exit at the other end.
• Spread by contaminated hands & fingers or contaminated food & water
• Poor personal hygiene.
 Mucus Membranes
Genitourinary System
• Microbes gain entrance through sex with infected person.
• Bacteria and viruses present in the genital fluids and on the mucosal
membranes.
Common diseases contracted through the Genitourinary System
• Gonorrhea - Neisseria gonorrhoeae
• Syphilis - Treponema pallidum
• Chlamydia - Chlamydia trachomatis
• HIV -
• Herpes Simplex II - Herpes Simplex virus
 Mucus Membranes

 Conjunctiva –
• Mucus membranes that cover the eyeball and lines the eyelid.
• Trachoma - Chlamydia trachomatis
 Skin
• Skin - the largest organ of the body. When unbroken is an effective barrier for
most microorganisms.
• Some microbes can gain entrance through openings in the skin: hair follicles and
sweat glands, wound …etc.
• Microorganisms are deposited into the tissues below the skin or mucus
membranes through:
• Punctures and scratches
• injections
• bites
• Surgery
staphylococci and yeasts
Some parasites are able to penetrate directly through the intact skin: larvae of
hookworm, cercariae of schistosoma.
 Preferred Portal of Entry
• Just because a pathogen enters the body does not mean it’s going to cause
disease.
• pathogens - preferred portal of entry.
Eg.
• Streptococcus pneumoniae
• when inhaled can cause pneumonia
• But when it enters the G.I. Tract, no disease is caused
• Salmonella typhi
• When it enters the G.I. Tract can cause Typhoid Fever
• but on the skin, no disease
 PORTAL OF ENTRY FOR VIRUS
Adenovirus, measles, mumps, rubella, influenza A virus, influenza B virus, rhinovirus,
Respiratory tract
respiratory syncytial virus, varicella zoster virus, variola
Norwalk virus, rotavirus, poliovirus, enteric enteroviruses, hepatitis A virus, hepatitis E virus,
Gastrointestinal tract
sapovirus
Human papillomaviruses, HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, herpes simplex virus-2
Genital tract
(HSV-2)
Skin
Direct contact Human papillomaviruses, HSV-1, Molluscum contagiosum virus
Injection/cuts: hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, HIV, Ebola virus
Mosquito: Dengue virus, West Nile virus, eastern equine encephalitis virus, Chikungunya virus,
Penetration into dermis or subcutaneous tissue
yellow fever virus
Ticks: Heartland virus, Powassan virus, Colorado tick fever virus
Through placenta (transplacental) Cytomegalovirus, variola virus, HSV-1 and -2, measles virus, Zika virus, rubella virus
Adenoviruses, HSV-1, cytomegalovirus, enterovirus 70, Coxsackievirus A24, rubella virus,
Eye
measles virus, vaccinia virus
Transplants
Hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, HIV, cytomegalovirus, West Nile virus, rabies virus,
Solid organs lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, HSV, varicella zoster virus

HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human T-lymphotrophic virus-I and -II, dengue virus,
Blood Ebola virus
 Spread/transmission of disease

• Two types
1. Horizontal Transmission
2. Vertical Transmission
• Horizontal transmission
Direct contact (Touching infected object or through the bite)
Indirect contact (through cough and sneeze)
• Vertical transmission
Passing disease causing agent from mother to unborn child
 Spread of infection
• Aerosol — Droplets containing pathogens travel through the air and are inhaled by another
animal or human.
• Oral — Ingestion of disease causing agents from contaminated food, water or by licking or
chewing contaminated objects in the environment.
• Direct contact — Spread of pathogens through contact with open wounds, mucous
membranes, or abraded skin contacting an infected animal or its tissues or fluids (e.g., blood,
saliva, urine). Inoculation of pathogens can occur from bites or scratches.
• Reproductive — A subtype of direct contact that involves pathogens spread by contact with
reproductive fluids or tissues. In animals, pathogens may be spread during breeding or between
mother and offspring.
• Fomite — Spread of pathogens through contact with objects or surfaces contaminated by an
infected animal.
• Vector-borne — Transfer of a pathogen from an infected animal to another animal or a human
by an insect (e.g., flea, tick, mosquito).
• Zoonoses — Diseases spread between animals and humans.