What is the difference between contagious and hereditary

Both flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID can be spread to others by people before they begin showing symptoms; by people with very mild symptoms; and by people who never experience symptoms asymptomatic people. This means the virus that causes COVID can quickly and easily spread to a lot of people and result in continual spreading among people as time progresses.

Those at highest risk include:. Most people who get flu will recover on their own in a few days to two weeks, but some people will experience severe complications , requiring hospitalization. Some of these complications are listed above. People at higher risk of complications or who have been hospitalized for COVID or flu should receive supportive medical care to help relieve symptoms and complications. Prescription influenza antiviral drugs are FDA-approved to treat flu.

People who are hospitalized with flu or who are at increased risk of complications and have flu symptoms are recommended to be treated with antiviral drugs as soon as possible after illness onset.

FDA has issued emergency use authorizations external icon EUAs to allow healthcare providers to use investigational products that are not yet approved, or that are approved for other uses, to treat patients with COVID if certain legal requirements are met external icon. There are multiple FDA-licensed influenza vaccines produced annually to protect against the 4 flu viruses that scientists expect will circulate each year.

To receive weekly email updates about Seasonal Flu, enter your email address:. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Influenza Flu. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. On This Page. Learn more about how to protect yourself and others from flu this season. One way is through direct physical contact, like touching or kissing a person who has the infection.

Another way is when an infectious microbe travels through the air after someone nearby sneezes or coughs. Sometimes people get contagious diseases by touching or using something an infected person has touched or used — like sharing a straw with someone who has mono or stepping into the shower after someone who has athlete's foot.

And sexually transmitted diseases STDs are spread through all types of sex — oral, anal, or vaginal. Sexually transmitted diseases STDs —also called venereal diseases —are transmitted through sexual contact. Blood and other body fluids are often the vehicle through which STDs spread. A note on the word vector , which often comes up in the context of infectious diseases.

A vector can refer to an insect or other organism that transmits a pathogenic fungus, virus, bacterium, and so on. In the case of malaria, the mosquito is the vector. Recap time.

Communicable diseases are infectious diseases. Some key points: this transmission is typically very easy and results from close, casual contact. Like malaria, it has to enter your bloodstream, such as by getting cut by a rusty nail, where the tetanus-causing bacteria can breed. Food poisoning is an infectious , if short-lived acute , not chronic , disease. In everyday settings, the distinction between contagious and infectious often breaks down. We use the terms figuratively , too.

Contagious laughter might spread across a classroom after the class clown cracks a perfectly timed joke. Or, low morale might be said to be contagious in an office after layoffs have been announced. Infectious , in its metaphorical sense, tends to have a positive connotation. Contagious can be positive or negative, though it might skew toward the latter. Calling a disease contagious highlights the fact that it is very easily spread by being around people and public places—in our very normal life circumstances.

Feedback See Today's Synonym. Word of the Day. Meanings Meanings. What is the difference between communicable vs. The World Health Organization WHO identifies four main types of noncommunicable diseases : cancer cardiovascular diseases e.

What does infectious mean? To drill down, it helps to begin with the term infectious.