It is not always easy knowing what conditions are infectious and which are not. Complicating things is that many share the same symptoms but are transmitted in different ways, according to a report by The Healthy.
As Amesh Adalja, M.D., an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, explained: "There is not a single relationship between the cause of an infection and its contagiousness, as there are bacterial diseases that are contagious and others that are not."
There are countless conditions out that are thought to be contagious but are not and here we look at six of them, as reported by The Healthy.
Legionnaires' disease is not transmitted between people. It is caused by exposure to contaminated water. This may occur from drinking or inhaling water droplets containing Legionella bacteria, which can come from showers, faucets or even ventilation systems in buildings.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition. It is not caused by germs or bacteria but by the immune system attacking the skin.
"It is not caused by a microorganism that can be passed between people," Dr. Adalja explained. The red patches covered in scales are a result of the body’s skin cells multiplying too quickly.
While experts are not completely sure what causes the skin condition, they all agree that it is noncontagious. The visible blood vessels and acne-like breakouts may be the result of genetics or even gut bacteria, according to certain theories, and antibiotics may be an effective way to treat the condition.
Despite what many think, Lyme disease can only be contracted from infected ticks. It cannot spread between people and you cannot catch the bacteria-based disease from animals unless they are carrying ticks.
You contract this potentially fatal disease when a mosquito carrying malaria parasites bites you. It does not spread between people however, because it infects the red blood cells, you can contract the disease through blood transfusions or contact with an infected needle.
Lockjaw, which is actually tetanus, is caused by exposure to bacteria and people infected with the disease are not contagious. The most likely way to contract tetanus is though puncture wounds that are exposed to the bacteria, which live in soil and on many surfaces.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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