How communicable diseases are spread?

Answer 1

Respiratory diseases and meningitis are commonly acquired by contact with aerosolized droplets, spread by sneezing, coughing, talking, kissing or even singing.

Gastrointestinal diseases are often acquired by ingesting contaminated food and water.

Sexually transmitted diseases are acquired through contact with bodily fluids, generally as a result of sexual activity.

Some infectious agents may be spread as a result with contact with a contaminated, inanimate object, such as a coin passed from one person to another, while other diseases penetrate the skin directly.

Transmission of Infectious Diseases may also involve a vector. Vectors may be mechanical or biological. A mechanical vector picks up an infectious agent on the outside of it's body an transmits it in a passive manner. An example of a mechanical vector is a housefly, which lands on cow dung, contaminating it with appendages with bacteria from the feces, and then lands on food prior to consumption.

In contrast, biological vectors harbor pathogens within their bodies and deliver pathogens to new hosts in an active manner, usually a bite. Biological vectors are usually responsible for serious blood-borne diseases, such as malaria, viral encephalitis, Chagas disease, Lyme disease and African sleeping sickness. Biological vectors are usually arthropods, such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and lice.

Answer 2

Communicable diseases can be spread through direct contact with an infected person, such as by touching or shaking hands, through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, by ingesting contaminated food or water, or through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects. Some communicable diseases can also be spread through vectors like mosquitoes or ticks.

Answer 3

It depends entirely on the disease. Different diseases may be transferred by air, fluids, or contact with infected blood or by (direct or indirect) physical contact with an infected person