Contagious or Communicable?

[daddyjohn]

Is there a difference in meaning between 'contagious' and 'communicable' when said of diseases?

Thank you.

[Anglika]

Contagious = describes a disease that can be caught by touching someone with the disease or a piece of infected clothing.

Communicable = able to be given from one person to another.

The essential difference is that a disease that is communicable can be transmitted without direct human touch [airborne/insect-borne/water-borne].