Reservoirs - Chain of Infection

 A reservoir is a place where germs can grow, multiply, and spread.

Example 1 - Food and Water

Sometimes there are germs on the food we eat. If we eat the food and the germs get into our bodies through our mouth, we can become infected. That means we can get sick. If someone gets sick after eating chicken, the chicken is the reservoir. 

The spinach was recalled from the store. The spinach has salmonella on it. Salmonella is a foodborne pathogen that can make a person get sick. The store had to recall the spinach. This means the spinach was put into the garbage. The spinach was a reservoir for the pathogen to live, eat, and grow. 

Do not drink the water here! The water is a reservoir for germs. The water here can make a person sick because there are germs in the water. 

Example 2 - Wood ticks and Mosquitoes

Wood ticks can be hosts for lymes disease. Lymes disease can make a person sick. Lymes disease is bacteria that grows in the tick's body. When a wood tick bites a person or dog the disease can be transmitted. Sometimes the host and a reservoir are the same. A host is always an animal. A host can be the same as a reservoir.

Mosquitoes can be hosts for malaria. Malaria is a disease that makes a person sick. Mosquitoes are a host or reservoir for the pathogen called malaria. For now, there are almost no cases of Malaria in the United States. For now, we do not have to think about getting sick with Malaria.