Communicable Diseases List

Last updated on January 4th, 2023 at 12:13 pm

Communicable diseases are illnesses that spread from person to person through direct contact or by coming into close-proximity with an infected person. Learn about communicable diseases and the list of 86 reported communicable diseases, so you can protect yourself and others around you.

What is a communicable disease?

A communicable disease is one that is spread from one person to another through a variety of ways that include contact with blood and bodily fluids; breathing in an airborne virus; or by being bitten by an insect.

Reporting of cases of communicable disease is important in the planning and evaluation of disease prevention and control programs, in the assurance of medical therapy, and in the detection of common-source outbreaks. Some examples of the reportable communicable diseases include Hepatitis A, B & C, influenza, measles, and salmonella and other food-borne illnesses.

Common Communicable Diseases List

There are 86 communicable diseases are reported worldwide and the following 19 are among them and majorly contributed.

1. 2019-nCoV
2. CRE
3. Ebola
4. Enterovirus D68
5. Flu
6. Hantavirus
7. Hepatitis A
8. Hepatitis B
9. HIV/AIDS
10. Measles
11. Monkeypox
12. MRSA
13. Pertussis
14. Rabies
15. Sexually Transmitted Disease
16. Shigellosis
17. Tuberculosis
18. West Nile Virus
19. Zika

Complete List of 86 Communicable Diseases Reported

1. Anthrax, human or animal
2. Botulism (Infant, Foodborne, Wound
3. Brucellosis, human
4. Cholera
5. Ciguatera Fish Poisoning
6. Diphtheria
7. Domoic Acid Poisoning (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning)
8. Flavivirus infection of undetermined species
9. Foodborne Disease (when two or more cases or suspected cases of food-borne disease from separate households are suspected to have the same source of illness)
10. Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
11. Influenza due to novel strains (human)
12. Measles (Rubeola)
13. Meningococcal Infections
14. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
15. Novel Virus with Pandemic Potential
16. Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning
17. Plague, Human or Animal
18. Rabies, Human or Animal
19. Scombroid Fish Poisoning
20. Shiga Toxin (detected in feces)
21. Smallpox (Variola)
22. Tularemia, human
23. Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, human or animal (Crimean-Congo, Ebola, Lassa, and Marburg viruses)
24. Babesiosis
25. Campylobacteriosis
26. Carbapenem-resistant
27. Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
28. Chickenpox (Varicella)
29. Chikungunya Virus Infection
30. Cryptosporidiosis
31. Dengue Virus Infection
32. Encephalitis, specify etiology (Viral, Bacterial, Fungal, Parasitic)
33. Escherichia coli
34. Haemophilus influenza, invasive disease
35. Hantavirus Infections
36. Hepatitis A, acute infection
37. Listeriosis
38. Malaria
39. Meningitis, specify etiology (Viral, Bacterial, Fungal, Parasitic)
40. Paratyphoid Fever
41. Pertussis (whooping cough)
42. Poliovirus Infection
43. Psittacosis
44. Q Fever
45. Relapsing Fever
46. Salmonellosis (other than Typhoid Fever)
47. Shigellosis
48. Syphilis (all stages, including congenital)
49. Trichinosis
50. Tuberculosis (TB)
51. Typhoid Fever, Cases and Carriers
52. Vibrio Infections
53. West Nile Virus Infection
54. Yellow Fever
55. Yersiniosis
56. Zika Virus Infection
57. Anaplasmosis
58. Brucellosis, animal (except infections because of Brucella canis)
59. Chancroid
60. Coccidioidomycosis
61. Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD)
62. Cyclosporiasis
63. Cysticercosis or Taeniasis
64. Ehrlichiosis
65. Giardiasis
66. Gonococcal Infections
67. Hepatitis B (specify acute, chronic, or perinatal)
68. Hepatitis C (specify acute, chronic, or perinatal)
69. Hepatitis D (Delta) (specify acute case or chronic)
70. Hepatitis E, acute infection
71. Influenza
72. Legionellosis
73. Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease)
74. Leptospirosis
75. Lyme Disease
76. Mumps
77. Respiratory Syncytial Virus
78. Rickettsial Diseases (non-Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, including Typhus and Typhus-like illnesses)
79. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
80. Rubella (German Measles)
81. Rubella Syndrome, congenital
82. Tetanus
83. Toxoplasmosis
84. Tularemia, animal
85. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
86. (AIDS) confirmed

List as per California Department of Public Health (source)

Learn about non-communicable diseases list

How do these communicable diseases spread?

How these diseases spread depends on the specific disease or infectious agent. Some ways in which communicable diseases spread are by:

1. Physical contact with an infected person, such as through touch (staphylococcus), sexual intercourse (gonorrhea, HIV), fecal/oral transmission (hepatitis A), or droplets (influenza, TB)
2. Contact with a contaminated surface or object (Norwalk virus), food (salmonella, E. coli), blood (HIV, hepatitis B), or water (cholera);
3. Bites from insects or animals capable of transmitting the disease (mosquito: malaria and yellow fever; flea: plague); and
4. Travel through the air, such as tuberculosis or measles.

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Conclusion

Communicable diseases are contagious and can be passed on through direct contact or by breathing air containing droplets of infectious material. Communicable diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and other means. The list of communicable disease is commonly reported worldwide and hence not complete.

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Originally published in acphd.org

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