Editing Pathogen transmission (section)

===Transmission by other organisms===
{{Further|Vector (epidemiology)}}
A ''[[Vector (epidemiology)|vector]]'' is an [[organism]] that does not cause disease itself but that transmits [[infection]] by conveying [[pathogen]]s from one [[Host (biology)|host]] to another.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.metapathogen.com | title = Pathogens and vectors | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150124020044/http://www.metapathogen.com/ | archive-date=24 January 2015 | work = MetaPathogen.com }}</ref>

Vectors may be mechanical or biological. A mechanical vector picks up an infectious agent on the outside of its body and transmits it in a passive manner. An example of a mechanical vector is a [[housefly]], which lands on cow dung, contaminating its appendages with bacteria from the feces, and then lands on food prior to consumption. The pathogen never enters the body of the fly. In contrast, biological vectors harbor pathogens within their bodies and deliver pathogens to new hosts in an active manner, usually a bite. Biological vectors are often responsible for serious [[blood-borne disease]]s, such as [[malaria]], [[viral encephalitis]], [[Chagas disease]], [[Lyme disease]] and [[African trypanosomiasis|African sleeping sickness]]. Biological vectors are usually, though not exclusively, [[arthropod]]s, such as [[mosquito]]es, [[tick]]s, [[flea]]s and [[Louse|lice]]. Vectors are often required in the life cycle of a pathogen. A common strategy used to control vector-borne infectious diseases is to interrupt the life cycle of a pathogen by killing the vector.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}