A person who is capable of spreading an infectious organism but is not sick is called a?

A person who is capable of spreading an infectious organism but is not sick is called a?

• A. Carrier
• B. Vector
• C. Reservoir
• D. Host

Answer: (A)

Being a carrier means you harbor an infectious organism but don’t show illness yourself, yet you can still spread it to others. This focuses on contagiousness even in the absence of symptoms, which is the exact scenario described. A vector, by contrast, is a living organism that transmits a pathogen between hosts—think mosquitoes spreading malaria—not the person who is spreading the disease. A reservoir is the natural place where a pathogen lives and multiplies, such as an animal or environment, not the person transmitting it. A host is any organism that can be infected, but this term doesn’t specify whether the person is contagious while asymptomatic. So the best term for someone who can spread an infectious organism without being sick is carrier.

Being a carrier means you harbor an infectious organism but don’t show illness yourself, yet you can still spread it to others. This focuses on contagiousness even in the absence of symptoms, which is the exact scenario described. A vector, by contrast, is a living organism that transmits a pathogen between hosts—think mosquitoes spreading malaria—not the person who is spreading the disease. A reservoir is the natural place where a pathogen lives and multiplies, such as an animal or environment, not the person transmitting it. A host is any organism that can be infected, but this term doesn’t specify whether the person is contagious while asymptomatic. So the best term for someone who can spread an infectious organism without being sick is carrier.