Communicable disease
A disease that can pass from one person or animal to another. Non-communicable diseases cannot.
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Analogy
A cold spreads like gossip. Diabetes does not.
In practice
Measles, malaria and tuberculosis are communicable. Cancer is not.
Practice
Flashcards
- Is diabetes communicable?No. It cannot be passed from person to person.
Questions people ask
How do communicable diseases spread?
There are several routes. Some travel through the air in droplets when people cough, such as flu. Others spread by contaminated food or water, by direct touch, or by animals such as mosquitoes. Washing hands, clean water and vaccination all reduce the spread.
How can you stop a communicable disease spreading?
Good hygiene such as handwashing, covering coughs and cleaning surfaces helps. Isolating sick people stops contact. Vaccination builds immunity. Controlling vectors like mosquitoes, for example with nets, breaks the chain. Clean drinking water and safe sewage disposal stop diseases like cholera.