Which of the following terms describes organisms that typically carry pathogens but are not affected by them?

The term that describes organisms that typically carry pathogens but are not affected by them is "vectors." Vectors are usually animals, such as mosquitoes or ticks, that can transmit pathogens from one host to another without suffering from the diseases themselves. They play a crucial role in the life cycle of many pathogens by allowing them to move between different hosts, facilitating the spread of infectious diseases. Understanding vectors is essential in fields like epidemiology and public health, as controlling the population and behavior of these organisms can significantly reduce the transmission of diseases.

Antibodies, on the other hand, are proteins produced by the immune system to identify and neutralize pathogens. They are not organisms and do not carry pathogens. Pathogens are the microorganisms (like bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that cause disease in their hosts, while lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell involved in the immune response, but they do not function as carriers of pathogens. This distinction helps clarify the role each of these terms plays in the study of infectious diseases.