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Reservoir of Infection

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Encyclopedia of Public Health
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Definition

The reservoir is the natural habitat of the infectious agent. It may be any person, animal, plant, soil, or substance in which an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies. The reservoir typically harbors the infectious agent without injury to itself and serves as a source from which other individuals can be infected. The infectious agent depends primarily on the reservoir for survival.

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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(2008). Reservoir of Infection . In: Kirch, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Public Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_3006

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_3006

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5613-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5614-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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