List of Communicable Diseases In India

The burden of improvement in the healthcare sector is high in a developing country like India due to a variety of factors such as limited access to clean water, poor sanitation, lack of proper hygiene, and so on. Various communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria, affect millions of people across the country, resulting in a high death rate each year.

What exactly is a communicable disease?

Communicable diseases are those that spread from one person to another through various means such as breathing in airborne viruses, coming into contact with bodily fluids and blood, or being bitten by an insect, and many others.

How do Communicable Diseases Spread?

Listed below are some of the ways through which these communicable diseases spread:

• Some of the diseases like measles or tuberculosis travel and spread through the air. 
• Animal or insect bites that are capable enough of transmitting the disease
• Getting in contact with an infected individual physically like through sexual intercourse, touch droplets, oral transmission, etc.

List of Top Communicable Diseases in India

Highlighted below are some of the most common communicable diseases in India:

• Coronavirus

COVID-19 is a communicable disease that has spread across the globe. The symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild to moderate depending on the immunity system of an individual. Some people recover without undergoing any treatment; however, some may face critical problems and require special treatment. The major transmission of coronavirus from one person to another is the infectious droplets that are left by people while sneezing, coughing, or exhaling. Also, an individual can contract the disease if they are near an infected person, or by getting into contact with a contaminated surface and then subsequently touching their nose, mouth, or eyes.

• Typhoid

Typhoid is a worldwide health issue, which is seen typically in children above the age of 1 year. It is a systemic infection that is also known as Enteric fever and is caused because of paratyphoid and salmonella typhi found in contaminated food and water. Generally, the person infected with typhoid exhibits symptoms such as high fever, headache, weakness, stomach pain, vomiting, and various abdominal problems. However, the transmission of typhoid directly from one person to another is quite rare. 

• Malaria

Malaria is a deadly disease most common among children below 5 years of age. However, malaria can also trigger pregnant women, infants, the mobile population, non-immune migrants, and patients with HIV/AIDS. It is caused due to a plasmodium parasite, which is typically transmitted through an infected mosquito's bite. When this mosquito bites an individual, it gets released into the bloodstream of an individual. 

• Jaundice

Jaundice, also popular as icterus, is a condition when the skin of an individual gets pale with a yellowish color and white eyes. The skin of an individual turns yellow in Jaundice because of an excessive amount of bile pigment referred to as bilirubin inside the human body. Generally, bilirubin is formed due to the breakdown of hemoglobin at the time of the destruction of worn-out red blood cells. 

• Tuberculosis

One of the most common communicable diseases is Tuberculosis which usually affects the lungs of an individual. Besides the lungs, tuberculosis can also spread to other body parts such as the spine and brain. The disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis is spread by an infected person to a normal person by sneezes or coughs. Generally, individuals in contact with Tuberculosis don't exhibit any symptoms. However, some common symptoms may include cough (at times blood-tinted), fever, night sweats, and weight loss.

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