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

As a result, communicable diseases that had been all but eradicated during the Mao era reemerged and spread quickly in the 1980s. —Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2011

Kamala Harris' open border, Kristen, has led to skyrocketing housing costs in Springfield, rising rates of crime, rising rates of communicable diseases. —NBC News, 15 Sep. 2024

And to anybody listening, Margaret, this is what Kamala Harris wants to do to every town in this country, overwhelm them with migration, stress their municipal budgets, see communicable diseases on the rise. —CBS News, 15 Sep. 2024

However, local health officials have countered these claims, noting that the overall rate of reportable communicable diseases, excluding COVID-19, is at its lowest level in Clark County since 2016. —Nik Popli, TIME, 13 Sep. 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.