communicable disease

noun

plural communicable diseases

: an infectious disease (such as cholera, hepatitis, influenza, malaria, measles, or tuberculosis) that is transmissible by contact with infected individuals or their bodily discharges or fluids (such as respiratory droplets, blood, or semen), by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, by ingestion of contaminated food or water, or by direct or indirect contact with disease vectors (such as mosquitoes, fleas, or mice)

Note: The terms communicable disease and contagious disease are often used interchangeably. However, communicable diseases such as malaria or schistosomiasis that are spread by contact with disease vectors are not typically considered to be "contagious" diseases since they cannot be spread from direct contact with another person.

Examples of communicable disease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Struggles for dominance in the region across roughly three decades have left six million dead, making the Kivu area in particular — where the Clade Ib strain was first reported — exceptionally at risk of spreading communicable diseases due to poor health conditions and lack of access to medicine. —Samantha Riedel, Them, 15 Aug. 2024

Advertisement Contra Costa Health’s communicable disease program is investigating the case and has not determined where the person became infected, according to a news release. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2024

Antibiotics can treat plague, but a person must be seen immediately to avoid serious illness or death, said Alicia Solis, a communicable disease and emergency preparedness program manager in the Pueblo County public health department, in a statement. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 9 July 2024

Nearly 300,000 stemmed from communicable diseases known to be more prevalent among alcohol drinkers, like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. —Lev Facher, STAT, 25 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

communicable disease

noun

: an infectious disease (as cholera, hepatitis, influenza, malaria, measles, or tuberculosis) that is transmissible by contact with infected individuals or their bodily discharges or fluids (as respiratory droplets, blood, or semen), by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, by ingestion of contaminated food or water, or by direct or indirect contact with disease vectors (as mosquitoes, fleas, or mice)

Note: The terms communicable disease and contagious disease are often used interchangeably. However, communicable diseases (as malaria or schistosomiasis) that are spread by contact with disease vectors are not typically considered to be "contagious" diseases since they cannot be spread from direct contact with another person.