A college student is surprised one morning by painful urination and a cream-colored exudate. Any person who acquires the gram-negative microbe that causes this infection is most likely to have acquired it via which of the following?

The respiratory tract is a common portal of entry to such airborne organisms as M. tuberculosis. This is why respiratory precautions must be taken when patients are harboring viable M. tuberculosis. The GI tract is usually infected from ingestion of contaminated food or water (Shigella, Salmonella, and Campylobacter) or by an alteration of the normal microbial flora such as with C. difficile disease. The genital tract may become infected either by sexual contact or by alteration of the genital environment, as often occurs with yeast infections. Several bacteria such as N. gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia, and T. pallidum are transmitted by direct sexual contact with infected partners.