For obvious reasons, this almost never happens deliberately. Usually, the situation occurs when an infected person might forget toproperly washtheir hands after using the toilet. Anything they touch afterward might be contaminated with microscopic germs that other people may encounter.
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ExampleA 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.
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 eats it. In many cases offoodborne illness outbreaks, poor hand hygiene is the precipitating factor.
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While poor hand washing is a major cause of fecal-oral contamination, there are other equally important considerations. Here are other ways microbes use the fecal-oral route to cause disease:
Viral Hepatitis
Prevention
Good handwashing is a tremendously effective way to break the fecal-oral cycle. Other important tools for preventing the spread of disease through fecal-oral transmission include:
Frequently Asked Questions
A few diseases that can be spread through the fecal-oral route include hepatitis A, hepatitis E,cholera,adenovirus, andE. coli. These diseases occur due to the viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites that can spread through fecal-oral transmission.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Viral hepatitis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food worker handwashing in restaurants.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food & water precautions.Bonadonna L, La rosa G.A review and update on waterborne viral diseases associated with swimming pools.Int J Environ Res Public Health.2019;16(2). doi:10.3390/ijerph16020166John Hopkins Medicine.Viral hepatitis A and E.Additional ReadingBui D, Brown HE, Harris RB, Oren E.Serologic evidence for fecal-oral transmission of Helicobacter pylori.Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2016;94(1):82-8. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0297De graaf M, Beck R, Caccio SM, et al.Sustained fecal-oral human-to-human transmission following a zoonotic event.Curr Opin Virol.2017;22:1-6. doi:10.1016/j.coviro.2016.11.001
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Viral hepatitis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food worker handwashing in restaurants.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food & water precautions.Bonadonna L, La rosa G.A review and update on waterborne viral diseases associated with swimming pools.Int J Environ Res Public Health.2019;16(2). doi:10.3390/ijerph16020166John Hopkins Medicine.Viral hepatitis A and E.Additional ReadingBui D, Brown HE, Harris RB, Oren E.Serologic evidence for fecal-oral transmission of Helicobacter pylori.Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2016;94(1):82-8. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0297De graaf M, Beck R, Caccio SM, et al.Sustained fecal-oral human-to-human transmission following a zoonotic event.Curr Opin Virol.2017;22:1-6. doi:10.1016/j.coviro.2016.11.001
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Viral hepatitis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food worker handwashing in restaurants.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food & water precautions.Bonadonna L, La rosa G.A review and update on waterborne viral diseases associated with swimming pools.Int J Environ Res Public Health.2019;16(2). doi:10.3390/ijerph16020166John Hopkins Medicine.Viral hepatitis A and E.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Viral hepatitis.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food worker handwashing in restaurants.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food & water precautions.
Bonadonna L, La rosa G.A review and update on waterborne viral diseases associated with swimming pools.Int J Environ Res Public Health.2019;16(2). doi:10.3390/ijerph16020166
John Hopkins Medicine.Viral hepatitis A and E.
Bui D, Brown HE, Harris RB, Oren E.Serologic evidence for fecal-oral transmission of Helicobacter pylori.Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2016;94(1):82-8. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0297De graaf M, Beck R, Caccio SM, et al.Sustained fecal-oral human-to-human transmission following a zoonotic event.Curr Opin Virol.2017;22:1-6. doi:10.1016/j.coviro.2016.11.001
Bui D, Brown HE, Harris RB, Oren E.Serologic evidence for fecal-oral transmission of Helicobacter pylori.Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2016;94(1):82-8. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0297
De graaf M, Beck R, Caccio SM, et al.Sustained fecal-oral human-to-human transmission following a zoonotic event.Curr Opin Virol.2017;22:1-6. doi:10.1016/j.coviro.2016.11.001
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