The nurse has had a nasal culture performed and has been found to be MRSA positive. Because the nurse has not been ill from the bacteria, the nurse's nasal cavity can best be described as a:

Question

a. susceptible host.
b. reservoir.
c. portal of entry.
d. mode of transmission.

Answer 1

B
A place in which microorganisms survive, multiply, and wait to transfer to a susceptible host is called a reservoir. Common reservoirs are humans and animals (hosts), insects, food, water, and organic matter on inanimate surfaces (fomites). Frequent reservoirs for health care–acquired infections (HAIs) include health care workers (especially their hands), patients' body excretions and secretions, equipment, and the health care environment. A susceptible host is one who will get an infection. Susceptibility to an infection depends on the individual's degree of resistance to pathogens. The fact that the nurse has not become ill indicates that he or she is not very susceptible. Portal of entry describes how the organism entered the body. Although the MRSA may have used the nasal cavity as the portal of entry, it now resides there so the nasal cavity is now the reservoir. Mode of transmission refers to how the organism is passed from one person to another. This can be from touch, sneezing, coughing, and so on. The nasal cavity is a place, not a mode of transmission.