Question

Which one of the following is a communicable disease?
A. Measles
B. Cancer
C. Heart stroke
D. Allergy

Answer 1

Hint: A Communicable disease spreads from one person to another or from animal to person. The spread often happens via pathogens like airborne virus or bacteria or protozoa etc, but also through blood or other body fluids. The term infectious and contagious is often used for communicable disease.

Complete answer:
Diseases are classified into two groups as communicable and non-communicable diseases.
> Communicable diseases- they spread from infected people to healthy people. They are caused by infectious agents or pathogens like bacteria, viruses and protozoan. Some examples of communicable diseases are malaria, cholera, tuberculosis etc.

> Non-communicable diseases- They do not spread or be transmitted from infected people to healthy people. They are caused either by the deficiency of nutrients, malfunctioning of some organs of the body, allergy or abnormal growth of the tissues. Examples are cancer, heart diseases, epilepsy, marasmus etc.

Measles is caused by the virus in the paramyxovirus family called measles virus (MeV). It is considered as the communicable disease because if one person has the disease or infection of measles, then ninety percent of the people who come in contact with that person also become infected, if they did not have a vaccination earlier.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: Cancer is a complex disease that is caused by the abnormal or uncontrolled growth of cells. It is a non-communicable disease caused by mutation of DNA in the cells, radiation, or smoking etc. A heart stroke is caused by less physical activity and an unhealthy lifestyle. Allergy is also a non communicable disease caused by allergens.