Infectious Disease Terminology

noun an infectious disease characterized by a bright red rash, high fever, sore throat, and a strawberry tongue

• Scarlet fever is a highly contagious bacterial infection that mainly affects children.
• My little cousin had scarlet fever last month, but he's all better now.
• I heard Sally got hit with scarlet fever, poor thing.
• The scarlet fever of gossip spread quickly through the small town.

adjective capable of being transmitted or spread from one person to another

• The virus is highly transmissible through respiratory droplets.
• The flu is so transmissible, everyone in the office got sick.
• That cold is super catchy, it's so transmissible!
• His enthusiasm for the project was transmissible, spreading to everyone on the team.

noun An occurrence or gathering where a contagious disease is spread to a large number of people

• The concert held last week turned out to be a super-spreader event, leading to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
• Did you hear about that party? It was a total super-spreader event.
• That gathering was a super-spreader event waiting to happen.
• Their careless behavior acted as a super-spreader event for negativity within the team.

noun the capacity of a microorganism to cause infection

adjective describing the ability of a microorganism to infect

• The infectivity of the virus is a major concern for public health officials.
• The infectivity of this flu strain is no joke, so make sure to wash your hands frequently.
• Dude, the infectivity of this thing is off the charts. Stay safe out there.
• His negativity has an infectivity that can bring down the whole team if we're not careful.

noun a person identified as the first to become infected with a disease in an outbreak

• The epidemiologists were trying to trace back to patient zero to understand how the virus spread.
• They're saying patient zero was actually someone who attended the concert last week.
• I heard patient zero was patient X's roommate who never washes his hands.
• In the world of fashion, patient zero is often considered the trendsetter who influences others to follow suit.

adjective an adjective describes a noun or pronoun, in this case, 'unvaccinatable' describes something that cannot be vaccinated

• Due to a rare medical condition, some individuals may be considered unvaccinatable.
• I heard that Sarah is unvaccinatable because of her allergies.
• Dude, did you know that guy is totally unvaccinatable?
• The stubborn old man seemed unvaccinatable when it came to changing his ways.

noun a set of measures taken to prevent the spread of a disease

• The government implemented a cordon sanitaire to contain the spread of the virus in the affected area.
• They set up a cordon sanitaire around the crime scene to keep everyone out.
• The cops put up a cordon sanitaire so nobody could get in or out of the building.
• She created a cordon sanitaire around herself, keeping her emotions guarded from others.

adjective a descriptive word that modifies a noun, in this case, 'actinobacillary' describes something related to Actinobacillus, a genus of bacteria

• The actinobacillary bacteria was identified as the cause of the infection.
• They said it was some actinobacillary thing causing the issue.
• I heard it was all because of that actinobacillary stuff going around.
• The actinobacillary presence in the situation was like a hidden danger waiting to cause harm.

noun a noun is a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun

• Active immunity is achieved when the body produces its own antibodies in response to a specific pathogen.
• When you get sick and your body fights off the illness, that's active immunity in action.
• Your immune system is like a superhero, using active immunity to protect you from getting sick.
• Just like a well-trained army, active immunity stands ready to defend your body against any invading germs.

noun a substance that causes particles of different substances to stick together

• The adhesin protein plays a crucial role in the attachment of bacteria to host cells.
• The adhesin helps the bacteria stick to the cells.
• The sticky stuff on the bacteria that makes them cling to cells is called adhesin.
• Just like adhesin binds bacteria to cells, loyalty binds friends together.

adjective aerosolized is an adjective that describes something that has been converted into tiny particles and suspended in the air as an aerosol.

• The medication can be administered through an aerosolized spray.
• Make sure to shake the aerosolized can before using it.
• I accidentally aerosolized my perfume all over the room.
• His words seemed to hang in the air like an aerosolized mist, lingering long after he had spoken.