catch

[wowenglish1]

I would like to know the meaning of "I wonder if you will catch them." in the next passage.




Anna came home from school with a note. It said:
Dear Parents,
A child in our class has come down with chickenpox. Please watch your children for symptoms and keep them home if they get sick.
Thanks!
Mrs. Cheng
"Uh-oh," said her mom. "One of your friends has chickenpox. I wonder if you will catch them."

[Linguist__]

I would like to know the meaning of "I wonder if you will catch them." in the next passage.

(Not a teacher)

'Them' is chickenpox. "I wonder if you will catch chickenpox." I think this is wrong, however. I would refer to chickenpox as 'it', not 'them'.

'Catch' is the word you use when a person becomes ill due to a contagious disease - they 'caught' the illness from somebody else.

[mmasny]

I also came across referring to a contagious disease with plural 'they'. I think it might have come from they - bacteria or they - germs maybe?