Infectious Disease
Put simply, aninfectious diseaseis an infection.
That is, when a microorganism comes into your body, and makes itself comfortable.
For bacteria or fungi, this means dividing and growing new cells at an exponential rate.
Sebastian Kaulitzki / Getty Images
Invisible Infections
Communicable Disease
A communicable disease is a contagious one.
The effect is external.
This can lead to small, isolated outbreaks or full-scalepandemics.
Asinfluenzaviruses are passed from person to person and via contaminated objects, the virus spreads far and wide.
Methods of Transmission
Nature has no shortage of creativity in how pathogens can travel through a population.
These are just a few of the most common methods microbes use to spread.
You don’t even have to be around.
Vectors
Some microbes aren’t spread from person-to-person, but rather along a more circuitous person-vector-person path.
Responsible for millions of illnesses each year, mosquitoes are one of the world’s most common vectors.
The presence of mosquitoes alone isn’t enough to spread diseases.
They are merely the pass-through.
If there aren’t any people around with malaria, the mosquitos can’t spread the disease.
This can infect someone else who might touch the same doorknob and then put that hand in his/her mouth.
Another method of contamination isfood poisoning, brought on by ingestion of toxins usually from spoiled food.
The spoiled food may contain toxins, parasites, and bacteria.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Tetanus.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Transmission of Measles.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.Bacteria and Viruses.
