Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases are illnesses you can develop when bacteria, viruses, fungi, or other organisms enter your body. You may acquire an infectious disease from people, insects, animals, or contaminated food. There are many infectious diseases, and they can range in severity. Find out how to protect yourself from infectious diseases and what to do if you get one.

Types of Infectious Diseases

A child with a rash on the palm of their hands
What Is Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease?

Life With an Infectious Disease

A woman puts her hand up to her throat in pain as she swallows a drink
Signs and Symptoms of Strep Throat
Sad and depressed woman sitting on the sofa at home
What Is Malaise?
sick woman taking her temperature
What Is the Incubation Period for the Flu?

How to Protect Yourself

Ways to Stay Safe From Germs in Public Restrooms , Public restroom in the center of city
How To Avoid Public Bathroom Germs
immunity-foods
Immunity-Boosting Foods That Help Fight Infections
Male doctor giving shingles vaccine to senior man in medical clinic
How To Prevent Shingles
flu-lasts
How Long Is the Flu Vaccine Effective?
Hygiene-Theatre-Skyrocketed-During-the-Pandemic-Heres-What-It-Is-and-Why-It-May-Not-Be-So-Helpful-GettyImages-BB9794-005-150972799
What Is COVID 'Hygiene Theater,' and Can It Hurt, Rather Than Help?

Explore Infectious Diseases

Woman sneezing into her arm
What Is Human Metapneumovirus? CDC Reports Unusual Spike of Respiratory Virus
Man waking up
CDC Reports New Mpox Outbreak, Experts Note Key Prevention Methods
Card Placeholder Image
What Is Impetigo?
older woman receiving vaccine
FDA Approves First-Ever RSV Vaccine for Adults 60 and Older
black-legged tick on human skin
What Is Babesiosis? Tickborne Disease on the Rise in the Northeast, CDC Says
Lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum)
What Is Heartland Virus? Tickborne Disease May Be Expanding Its Reach Across the U.S.
man looking out window holding abdomen in pain
CDC Warns About Drug-Resistant Stomach Bug on the Rise in the US: What to Know
A man lying down on a sofa, sleeping
Norovirus Outbreaks Have Increased to Pre-Pandemic Levels, CDC Data Show
Monkeypox virus particle
Monkeypox Has the Potential to Mutate and Resist Antiviral Treatment, FDA Warns
Monkeypox virus
First U.S. Monkeypox Death Confirmed in Los Angeles—Here's How the Disease Can Be Fatal
Doctor cleans a smiling woman's arm before giving her a shot
You May Be Better Protected if You Space Out Your COVID and Flu Shots—Here's Why
Mature doctor talking to senior man before applying vaccine - wearing face mask
New York Declares State of Emergency Over Growing Polio Concerns
African-American man getting covid vaccine close-up
Annual COVID Vaccine: U.S. Tries 'New Approach' With Omicron Boosters
A father holding his little girl in his lap while a mother is checking her temperature
'Tomato Flu' Is Likely Just an Unusual Presentation of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease
Kyle Planck, 26, who has recovered from monkeypox, shows Tecovirimat capsules, which is used for monkeypox treatment, during an interview in New York on July 19, 2022. - I don't want anyone to have to go through what I went through just cured of monkeypox, which gave him "the worst pain of his life" despite rapid treatment, Planck, 26, regrets the lack of response from health authorities when the epidemic appeared in the US. (Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP) (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
TPOXX Is the Only Treatment Available for Monkeypox—Here's What To Know
Digitally-colorized electron microscopic (EM) image depicting a monkeypox virion (virus particle), obtained from a clinical sample associated with a 2003 prairie dog outbreak, published June 6, 2022. The image depicts a thin section image from a human skin sample. On the left are mature, oval-shaped virus particles, and on the right are the crescents and spherical particles of immature virions. Courtesy CDC/Goldsmith at al. (Photo via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
How Monkeypox Spreads: What to Know About Transmission and How to Protect Yourself
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 10: Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) Gabriela Solis prepares a dose of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine at an L.A. County vaccination site in East Los Angeles on August 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles County reported 683 monkeypox cases as of August 9th, double the amount of cases from ten days earlier. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on August 1st over the monkeypox outbreak which continues to grow globally. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
What to Know About Monkeypox Vaccine Side Effects—Even With a Lower Dose
Smoke Emitting From Chimney Against Sky
How Climate Change Is Worsening Infectious Diseases Across the Globe
Man Preparing Vaccine
Do You Need a Polio Booster? What Vaccinated People Should Know
Young adult man suffering from sore throat
What Are the First Signs of Monkeypox? Here's When Symptoms Typically Show Up
A healthcare worker prepares to administer a monkeypox vaccine
These Pictures of Monkeypox on Skin May Help You Identify Rashes or Lesions
Doctor conducts medical examination of foot a covered wound
Signs and Symptoms of MRSA
A hand holding a culture of Staphylococcus aureus on a jelly agar
What Is MRSA?
woman with cold sore on lip
What Are Cold Sores?
50s man in hospital bed having pulse checked by doctor looking at watch
What Is Sepsis?
pale palmar surface of clammy, cold hands
Signs and Symptoms of Sepsis
Card Placeholder Image
What Is Hepatitis A?
Card Placeholder Image
What Is Cellulitis?
Doctor checking teenage girl's throat with a tongue depressor
What Is Mononucleosis (Mono)?
Allergies-vs-COVID-GettyImages-562381791
Allergies Vs. COVID-19: Here's How to Tell the Difference
coronavirus-anxiety
What Is COVID-19 Anxiety?
N95-protective-mask , Business people wearing medical masks during flu or contagious pandemic
Will the N95 Respirator Mask Protect You Against Coronavirus? Here's What an Expert Says
how-coronavirus-spread
How is Coronavirus Spread? Here's What You Should (and Shouldn't) Worry About
Covid vs Spanish Flu: What's the Difference
How Are the Spanish Flu and COVID-19 Alike? Here's What Doctors Say
What-Is-The-Double-Mutant-COVID-Variant
A New Double Mutant Variant of COVID Was Detected in California—Here's What We Know So Far
The Coronaviruses Owe Their Name To The The Crown Like Projections, Visible Under Microscope, That Encircle The Capsid. The Coronaviruses Are Responsible For Respiratory Ailments And Gastro Enteritis. The Virus Responsible For Sars Belongs To This Family. (Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images)
How Many People Have Died From the Coronavirus? Here's What the Latest US Data Says
What to Know About Active Vs. Passive Immunity—And Why Both Matter With COVID-19
Epidemic Vs. Pandemic: What Exactly Is the Difference?
how-to-wash-hands, Washing hands practice good personal hygiene.
Here's Exactly How to Wash Your Hands, According to the CDC
pregnant-coronavirus, A pregnant girl in a white T-shirt is sick. Clearing the nose.
How Does Coronavirus Affect a Pregnant Woman? Here's What Experts Told Us
Shot of an unrecognisable man disinfecting a kitchen counter at home
Can Monkeypox Spread via Contaminated Surfaces? Here's What To Know
Microscopic View of Human Blood Cells and Burkholderia Mallei Bacteria from a Patient with Glanders - 19th Century
What Is Melioidosis? CDC Says Bacteria That Causes Rare Disease Is Now Endemic Along Gulf Coast
monkeypox
U.S. Declares Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency—Here's What That Means
Electron Micrograph Of The Poliovirus. Poliovirus Is A Species Of Enterovirus, Which Is A Genus In The Family Of Picornaviridae, And Is An Rna Virus. (Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images)
Vaccine-Derived Polio: What to Know After 1st Case in Nearly a Decade Identified in New York
Daily Harvest Crumbles
What Is Tara Flour? Daily Harvest Identifies Ingredient Linked to Illnesses and Recall
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of Marburg virus particles (blue) both budding and attached to the surface of infected VERO E6 cells (yellow). Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID. (Photo by: IMAGE POINT FR/NIH/NIAID/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak in Ghana: What to Know About the Highly Fatal Illness
powassan virus
Powassan Virus Symptoms to Know After Connecticut Woman Dies From Tickborne Illness
A close up shot of a vaccination procedure.
Who Can—And Should—Get the Monkeypox Vaccine?
parechovirus infants
CDC Issues Parechovirus Warning—Here's What PeV Can Look Like in Infants
Portrait of Carmen Cusido
I Realized I Had Ramsay Hunt Syndrome Because of Justin Bieber's Diagnosis
Unrecognizable doctor covering his face with mask in hospital.
Can Masks Help Prevent Monkeypox? What We Know So Far
Justin Bieber attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America:
How Do You Get Ramsay Hunt Syndrome? Justin Bieber's Condition, Explained
Doctor giving first aid bandage after vaccination to senior woman
Does the Smallpox Vaccine Protect Against Monkeypox?
Female microbiologist using a microscope. Female biochemist working in high-tech lab.
The Symptoms and Causes of Monkeypox, as Virus Cases Rise Globally
Using a syringe to attack the new covid-19 variant
Why the FDA Restricted Use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Vaccine
COVID-Vaccine-and-Herpes-Virus-GettyImages-177384156
Shingles—Herpes Zoster—Infection May Be Linked to the COVID-19 Vaccine
Woman checking thermometer - What to do if you have a fever
How To Break a Fever
Ill woman looking at thermometer.
How Long Does COVID-19 Last? What To Expect if You Contract the Virus
EBV and MS connection
Research Suggests Epstein-Barr Virus Raises Risk of Multiple Sclerosis
Does Masturbation Affect Immunity?
Wild garden small flying insect
5 Types of Fly Bites You Might Get —And How To Treat Them
Ground Beef Recall
Possible E. Coli Contamination: Ground Beef Recalled
What Are 'COVID Nails'—And Are They a Sign You've Had the Virus?