Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) Practice Exam

What contributes to a person's status as a carrier of a disease?

1. Lack of health insurance

2. Presence of visible symptoms

3. Inability to transmit disease to others

4. Transmission of pathogens without illness

The correct answer is: Transmission of pathogens without illness

The correct answer highlights that a person can be identified as a carrier of a disease if they transmit pathogens without experiencing any noticeable illness themselves. Carriers can harbor and spread infectious agents while remaining asymptomatic, meaning they do not display symptoms commonly associated with the disease. This phenomenon is critical in understanding how certain diseases can persist and spread within populations, as carriers may unknowingly infect others. Lack of health insurance is unrelated to the biological or infectious status of an individual and does not affect whether someone can be a carrier of a disease. Visible symptoms are typically associated with active disease infection, thereby excluding those who are carriers but asymptomatic. Lastly, an inability to transmit the disease to others excludes the very definition of a disease carrier, who, by definition, can spread the pathogen even if they don't show symptoms themselves. This aspect reinforces the importance of recognizing asymptomatic individuals in public health and infection control strategies.