Year 9 Science · Unit 1 · Lesson 3

Disease Transmission

Foundation Worksheet

Name

Date

Class

Learning Goals

Name the five main routes of disease transmission with an example for each.
Explain how breaking the chain of infection can prevent a disease from spreading.
Classify a given disease into the correct transmission route using defining features.

Warm Up

Match each transmission route to its description and example

Draw a line connecting each transmission route on the left to its correct description and example on the right. Or write the matching letter next to each route.

Transmission route	Your answer	Description and example
Direct contact		A. The pathogen is carried by an intermediate organism (such as a mosquito) that bites the host. Example: malaria spread by Anopheles mosquitoes.
Droplet / airborne		B. The pathogen is ingested when food or water has been contaminated, often via the faecal-oral route. Example: cholera, salmonella.
Contaminated food or water		C. The pathogen is inhaled in tiny particles released when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Example: influenza, tuberculosis.
Vector-borne		D. The pathogen spreads by touching an infected person, contaminated surface (fomite), or through sexual contact. Example: staph infections, athlete's foot.
Waterborne		E. Drinking or contact with contaminated water allows the pathogen to enter the body. Example: cholera, giardia. Control: water treatment and sanitation.

Your Turn

Sort it!

Write each disease from the pool into the correct transmission route box. Some diseases may use more than one route, choose the primary route.

COVID-19 Cholera Malaria Athlete's foot Influenza Salmonella Dengue fever Giardia Staph skin infection Tuberculosis

Airborne / droplet

Food / water

Direct contact / vector-borne

Show What You Know

1. The 2018 Australian listeria outbreak was traced to contaminated rockmelon. Identify the most likely transmission route and explain the specific mechanism by which a person would become infected.

Recall 2 marks

2. Name two public health strategies that can reduce the spread of an airborne disease like influenza, and explain how each one works to break the chain of infection.

Recall 2 marks

Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?