Contagious Diseases

You must have often heard of a disease being contagious. What exactly are contagious or communicable diseases? In the simplest terms, contagious diseases can be defined as diseases that can be transmitted from one person to the other through direct physical contact or by coming in contact with the infected person's bodily secretions. On the other hand, some diseases and disorders require a special mode of transmission between the infected person and others.

Types of Contagious Diseases

Contagious or communicable diseases can be classified according to their modes of transmission. The following are the different types of contagious diseases:

Diseases spread through direct contact:
Certain airborne diseases are spread through the droplets that are sprayed in the air when the infected person sneezes or coughs. Most of the respiratory diseases are spread in this fashion. For e.g., tuberculosis, bronchitis, diphtheria, croup, measles, scarlet fever and whooping cough. Contagious skin diseases are also spread by direct contact.

Sexually transmitted diseases:
Sexually transmitted diseases can be spread by direct contact between two people. These diseases are also transmittable from mother to her child. HIV/AIDS is an example of sexually transmitted diseases.

Diseases spread by the fecal-oral route:
Certain diseases can be spread by the intake of contaminated food or water. Sometimes these diseases turn into pandemics when contamination takes place in large scales. Diarrhea, cholera and some types of gastroenteritis are the examples for the same.

Diseases spread by insect vectors and pathogens:
Most of the contagious diseases are spread by vector insects and pathogens found in particular region. Malaria, meningitis, plague, typhus, tetanus and yellow fever are the examples for the same. These diseases are mostly found in tropical and sub tropical regions.

Deadly Communicable Diseases

The following is a list of deadly contagious or communicable diseases that have killed millions of people all over the world.

• All Lower respiratory infectious diseases
• HIV/AIDS
• Tuberculosis
• Malaria
• Measles
• Whooping Cough
• Tetanus
• Meningitis
• Hepatitis B

Contagious Diseases List

The following is an alphabetical list of common as well as highly contagious diseases. This is a non exhaustive list.

• Athlete's foot
• Bacterial meningitis
• Chancroid
• Chickenpox
• Chlamydia
• Common cold
• Conjunctivitis (Pink eye)
• Crabs
• Croup
• Cryptosporidiosis
• Diphtheria
• Encephalitis
• Epstein Barr virus
• Flu (Influenza)
• Fungal skin infections
• Giardiasis
• Gonorrhea
• Hepatitis
• Herpes
• HIV/AIDS
• HPV
• Impetigo
• Leprosy
• Leptospirosis
• Measles
• Meningococcemia
• Molluscum contagiosum
• Infectious mononucleosis
• MRSA staph infection
• Mumps
• Nail fungus
• Nongonococcal urethritis
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Plantar warts
• Polio
• Ringworm
• Roseola infantum
• Rubella (German measles)
• Scabies
• Scarlet fever
• Shigellosis
• Smallpox
• Strep throat
• Swine flu
• Syphilis
• Tonsillitis
• Trichomoniasis
• Tuberculosis
• Vaginitis
• Viral gastroenteritis
• Viral laryngitis
• Whooping cough (pertussis)

Prevention of Communicable Diseases

Nowadays, there are fewer amounts of death occurring due to contagious as compared to previous century due to inventions of medicines and vaccinations. There are certain things a person should remember in order to prevent getting contracted by contagious diseases. Firstly, it is essential to know whether a particular disease is contagious or not and look out for safety measures as soon as possible. If a family member suffers from a transmittable diseases, he/she should avoid close contact with other members of the family, specially babies and older people. On the other hand, people should avoid sharing of daily use articles like toothbrushes, handkerchiefs, towels, etc. Similarly, if one is planning a picnic or a vacation in tropical regions, it is essential to check out the weather conditions as certain diseases are prevalent in certain climatic conditions. One should also have thorough information about the contagious diseases that are found there and get vaccinated against the same. Sometimes, it is simply best to avoid visiting such places.

Also, today effective vaccinations are available for most of the contagious diseases and one should go for it regularly. Vaccinations are also easily available and infants and old people should be specially vaccinated on regular intervals as they are more prone to contagious diseases. On the other hand, one should try to prevent spread of sexually transmitted diseases by following safe sex practices. One should avoid having sex with multiple partners and also undergo a regular medical checkup to prevent the spread of these diseases.

This was a list of common contagious diseases with some brief information. As a concluding note, one should remember that prevention of contagious or communicable diseases is possible by vaccinations and spread of proper awareness. Take care!