Final answer:
Microbes can be transmitted through airborne transmission, direct contact, or contaminated water or food, with specific modes of transmission such as respiratory droplets, skin-to-skin or oral contact, or the fecal-oral route.
Step-by-step explanation:
Microbes can be transmitted to new hosts via different routes depending on the microorganism and the environment. Three main transmission routes for microbes include:
- Airborne transmission: This occurs when pathogens such as the flu and the common cold are expelled through respiratory droplets during coughing or sneezing and inhaled by another person.
- Direct contact: Pathogens spread through skin-to-skin contact or oral transmission. Diseases like athlete's foot, warts, mononucleosis, and oral herpes are transmitted this way.
- Contaminated water or food: Diseases like cholera, gastroenteritis, and infections caused by Giardia lamblia spread through the fecal-oral route, often in contaminated water or undercooked meat.