What is meant by “vectors” in medicine?
A vector is an animal that transmits a specific infectious disease. The vector picks up pathogens (disease-causing organisms) from a source of infection, carries them within or on its body, and later deposits the pathogens onto another animal. In this way, the pathogens infect a new host. Mosquitoes, fleas, lice, ticks, and flies are the primary vectors for human diseases. Source: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, p. 1041.
