A fomite is an object (like clothing or bedding) that can absorb and transmit infectious organisms from one person to another.
Un fómite es un objeto (como ropa o ropa de cama) que puede absorber y transmitir organismos infecciosos de una persona a otra.
| Front | fomes \FOH-meez\ plural fomites \FOM-i-teez, FOH-mi-teez\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun An object (for example, clothing or bedding) capable of absorbing and transmitting infectious organisms from one person to another. [The word is usually used in its plural form fomites, which has led to the back-formation of a new singular form fomite. Another example of a word coined in a similar way is pea (from pease, which was erroneously believed to be a plural). From Latin fomes (kindling wood), from fovere (to warm). Earliest documented use: 1658.] "The sitters didn't catch the virus at all. The cuddlers did, and so did the touchers, pointing up the importance of direct contact with secretions, but especially of fomites -- objects and surfaces with infectious viral particles still on them." |
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