Communicable diseases are the disease that get transferred from one person to another.

Some common communicable diseases are as follows: 1)Chiken pox 2)Measles 3)Influenza 4)Diphtheria 5)Whooping Cough 6)Tuberculosis 7)Poliomyelitis 8)Hepatitis 9)Cholera 10)Typhoid fever 11)Helminthiasis 12)Filiariasis 13)Malaria 14)Rabies 15)Trachoma 16)Tetanus 17)Leprosy 18)Syphilis 19)Gonorrhoea 20)AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome) 21)Food Poisoning Classification of Communicable Diseases

Communicable diseases are classified depending upon the causative agents and mode of transmission:

1)Depending upon the causative agent, communicable diseases are of following types: i)Bacterial Diseases: For example, diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera, etc. ii)Viral Diseases: For example, mumps, measles, polio, smallpox, chickenpox, rabies, etc. iii)Protozoan Diseases: For example, malaria, amoebiasis, kala azar, sleeping sickness, etc. iv)Helminth Diseases: For example, taeniasis, ascariasis, filariasis, trichinosis, liver rot, etc. v)Fungal Diseases: For example, ring worm, athlete's foot, etc, vi)Rickettsial Diseases: For example, typhus fever, trench fever, Q-fever, Rocky mountain spotted fever, etc. vii)Spirochaetal Diseases: For example, syphilis.

2)On the basis of their mode of transmission, the communicable diseases are of two types: i)Contagious Diseases: These communicable diseases have the ability to spread from an infected person to healthy person as a consequence of contact between them for example, STDs, smallpox, chickenpox, measles, leprosy etc. ii)Non-contagious Diseases: These disease are able to spread from an infected person to healthy person with food, air or water for example, taeniasis, ascariasis, cholera, tuberculosis, typhoid etc.; or micro-organisms are injected inside the human body by some carrier or vector hosts for example, malaria, filariasis, plague etc. Mode of Transmission of Communicable Diseases

Various modes of transmission of communicable diseases are the means by which a disease is transmitted from one person to another . Various modes of transmission of communicable diseases are: 1)Droplet Contact: Coughing or sneezing on another person. 2)Direct Physical Contact: Touching an infected person. 3)Indirect Contact: Usually by touching a contaminated surface. 4)Airborne Transmission: If the microorganism can remain in the air for long periods. 5)Fecal-Oral Transmission: Usually from contaminated food or water sources. 6)Vector Borne Transmission: Carried by insects or other animals. Prevention of Communicable Diseases

Communicable Diseases can be prevented by taking a number of precautions. Following are the precautions that can be taken to prevent infectious disease: 1)Diagnosis: It is the initial step in the control of a disease. Diagnosis means recognizing the disease after analysis of the symptoms. It helps to curb the disease in the initial stages. 2)Notification: This refers to immediate reporting of the disease to the local health authority once a disease is diagnosed. It helps in taking immediate preventive measures to control the spread of the disease. 3)Isolation: The infected patient is isolated in hospital or at home in order to prevent the spread of the diasese. The duration of isolation depends on the period of communicability of the disease. Isolation of the infected patient is infected 4)Treatment: Treatment is generally given to the infected patient and also to the carrier of the infection. Moreover in case of epidemics all the people in the community are treated to prevent spread of the disease. 5)Quarantine: It refers to the isolation of healthy and normal persons till the incubation period of a disease is over. Quarantine ensures that the spread of the infection from diseased persons to others who have not been exposed to the disease is prevented. Quarantine is necessary for international travelers who have the possibility of carrying infections. 6)Investigation: Investigation of infected person and also infected areas is done by health bodies and suspected and also infected cases must be confirmed by laboratory tests. 7)Disinfection: Disinfection of the excreta and various belongings of the patient is done to prevent the spread of infection. Disinfection is done when the patient is suffering from the disease and after recovery or death. 8)Blocking of Transmission: Various measures are taken to prevent transmission of disease by various modes like i)Water borne infections are prevented by boiling water and also milk. ii)Air bone infections are prevented by wearing masks, isolating the patient in a separate room, dust control and disinfection of air. iii) Insect born diseases are curbed by using suitable insecticides. 9)Immunization: Immunization helps in the prevention of communicable diseases. For instance small pox, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, tuberculosis and measles can be effectively controlled by immunization 10)Health Education: It is very important to prevent occurrence of communicable disease. People should be made aware of the good eating habits, sanitation, clean water and food.