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Bacteria vs Fomite - What's the difference?

bacteria | fomite |

As an adjective bacteria

is bacterial.

As a noun fomite is

(medicine|epidemiology) an inanimate object capable of carrying infectious agents (such as bacteria, viruses and parasites), and thus passively enabling their transmission between hosts.

bacteria

English

Etymology 1

From .

Noun

(head)
  • English plurals
  • (US) A type, species, or strain of bacterium
  • * {{quote-book, 2002, A.C. Panchdhari, Water Supply and Sanitary Installations citation
    • , passage=Anaerobic bacteria' function in the absence of oxygen, where as aerobic '''bacteria''' require sunlight and also oxygen. Both these ' bacterias are capable of breaking down the organic matter
  • (US, proscribed)
  • (pejorative, slang) A derisive term for a lowlife or a slob (could be treated as plural or singular).
    • Usage notes
    * This is the plural form of the word. While it is often used as if it were singular (as a collective noun), this is considered nonstandard by some in the US and more elsewhere. See the usage examples under (bacterium).
    Derived terms
    * Bacteria * Eubacteria * Archaebacteria / Archebacteria * eubacteria * archaebacteria / archebacteria
    See also
    * culture (collective noun)

    Etymology 2

    From .

    Noun

    (bacteriae)
  • (dated, medicine) An oval bacterium, as distinguished from a spherical coccus or rod-shaped bacillus

    • Anagrams

    * * ----

    fomite

    English

    (wikipedia fomite)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (medicine, epidemiology) An inanimate object capable of carrying infectious agents (such as bacteria, viruses and parasites), and thus passively enabling their transmission between hosts.
  • * 1930 , Congressional Edition , page 9,
    • He volunteered and underwent the fomites experiment, sleeping 20 nights in infected bedding, for which experiment he received a donation of $100.
  • * 2009 , Raina M. Maier, Ian L. Pepper, Charles P. Gerba, Environmental Microbiology , page 559,
    • Alternatively, such fluids may be transferred from soiled hands to fomites', or airborne organisms may impinge or settle onto '''fomite''' surfaces. ' Fomites may also serve as a site for the replication of a pathogen, as in the case of enteric bacteria in household sponges or dishcloths.
  • * 2009 , Robert I. Krasner, The Microbial Challenge: Science, Disease and Public Health , page 166,
    • Fomites' play a significant role in the transmission of infectious agents. The list of '''fomites''' is seemingly endless and includes objects in common use,Toys are ' fomites and contribute to illness in children wherever the toys are shared.