Smitta är hur sjukdomar sprids från en individ till en annan. Sjukdomar som smittar är vanligen någon typ av infektion. Infektioner orsakas av bakterier, virus, prioner, svampar, större parasiter och urdjur, ex encelliga djur som amöbor.
Smitta kan spridas direkt från en människa till en annan eller via ett värddjur: malaria sprids av myggor och pesten av råttor. Den som drabbats av en infektionssjukdom har smittämnen - virus med mer - på eller i sig och som därifrån förs vidare via upphostat slem, utandningsluft, nysningar, avföring eller urin, beroende på vilken sjukdom det rör sig om.
Smittspridning och smittvägar
Smittspridning sker via olika smittvägar som är de olika sätt som smitta kan överföras. Man talar om direkt smitta, där smittämnet överförs direkt från den sjuke till den som blir smittad, och indirekt smitta där det finns mellanled.
Kontaktsmitta
När smittämne överförs via fysisk kontakt kallas det för kontaktsmitta. Till direkt kontaktsmitta hör de hudinfektioner som kan överföras från en människas hud till en annans, exempelvis spridning av munherpes via kyssar och könssju
Can You Get an STI From Poop?
Many viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections can be passed when trace amounts of feces (poop) get into your mouth during sex. This is referred to as the fecal-oral transmission.
These include hepatitis A and hepatitis E, both of which can be passed through oral-anal sex (also known as "rimming"). For an infection to occur, there needs to be fecal-oral contact; you can't get infected just by touching poop.
Some non-sexually transmitted infections can also be passed via the fecal-oral route, including parasitic diseases like amebiasis. There are also sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like herpes that are not strictly passed via the fecal-oral route but can be transmitted by contact with body fluids during rimming.
While preventive measures like dental dams can reduce the risk of exposure, they are not infallible and you should see a healthcare provider if you think you've been exposed during sex.
This article explains what the fecal-oral route is as well as STIs and non-STIs that can be passed by oral-anal contact. It also offers tips on how to avoid STIs from rimming and other forms of sex.
The Fecal-Oral Route and Sex
How Diseases Spread Through the Fecal-Oral Route
Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites spread from person to person, sometimes causing diseases as they move in and out of people's bodies along various routes. When the disease spreads through the fecal-oral route, it means that contaminated feces from an infected person are somehow ingested by another person.
For obvious reasons, this almost never happens deliberately. Usually, the situation occurs when an infected person might forget to properly wash their hands after using the toilet. Anything they touch afterward might be contaminated with microscopic germs that other people may encounter.
Example
A person infected with a disease transmitted through the fecal-oral route uses the bathroom and then opens the restroom door. Another person comes along, touches that contaminated doorknob, and then nervously bites on a fingernail before washing their hands properly. The microbe is spread through the fecal-oral route.
Microbe Transmission
Food workers must be extra diligent about hand hygiene because they are in a position to easily spread a fecal-oral disease through the food they prepare to anyone who
Fecal–oral route
Disease transmission via pathogens from fecal particles
The fecal–oral route (also called the oral–fecal route or orofecal route) describes a particular route of transmission of a disease wherein pathogens in fecal particles pass from one person to the mouth of another person. Main causes of fecal–oral disease transmission include lack of adequate sanitation (leading to open defecation), and poor hygiene practices. If soil or water bodies are polluted with fecal material, humans can be infected with waterborne diseases or soil-transmitted diseases. Fecal contamination of food is another form of fecal-oral transmission. Washing hands properly after changing a baby's diaper or after performing anal hygiene can prevent foodborne illness from spreading.[citation needed].Toilet flushing & subsequent inhaled aerosols is another potential route.
The common factors in the fecal-oral route can be summarized as five Fs: fingers, flies, fields, fluids, and food. Diseases caused by fecal-oral transmission include typhoid, cholera, polio, hepatitis and many other infections, especially ones that cause diarrhea.