How is impetigo most commonly transmitted?

Correct answer: D. By direct skin-to-skin contact

• A. Impetigo is a superficial skin infection and is not bloodborne.
• B. The faecal–oral route applies to hepatitis A and enteric pathogens, not to a superficial pyoderma.
• C. Airborne droplet-nuclei transmission describes tuberculosis, measles and varicella — not impetigo.
• D. CORRECT. Impetigo — caused by Staphylococcus aureus and/or Streptococcus pyogenes — spreads chiefly by DIRECT CONTACT with the lesions or their exudate. It is highly contagious, which is why it moves rapidly through households, daycares and contact sports. Indirect spread by contaminated towels, linen and shared equipment (fomites) is a secondary route.

Note: Recognise it clinically: honey-coloured crusted lesions, classically perioral and perinasal, in a child. Defer elective dental care and refer for topical or oral antibiotics; the child is generally considered non-infectious after about 24–48 hours of appropriate therapy.