contagious: An adjective for some disease that can be spread by direct contact with an infected individual or the germs that they shed into the air, their clothes or their environment. Such diseases are referred to as contagious. Or it can be an idea or behavior that spreads from person to person.
COVID-19: A name given to the disease that erupted into a massive global pandemic in 2020. It first emerged in 2019 and is caused by a new coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms can include pneumonia, trouble breathing, feeling too tired to walk more than a few steps, fever, headaches, low blood-oxygen levels, blood clots and brain “fog.”
develop: To emerge or to make come into being, either naturally or through human intervention, such as by manufacturing. (in biology) To grow as an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size, mental maturity or sometimes even shape.
developing world: A region with relatively little industry and a lower standard of living than industrial countries, such as the United States, Germany and Japan.
epidemiologist: Like health detectives, these researchers look to link a particular illness to what might have caused it and/or allowed it to spread.
flu: Short for influenza. It is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory passages causing fever and severe aching. It often occurs as an epidemic.
germ: Any one-celled microorganism, such as a bacterium or fungal species, or a virus particle. Some germs cause disease. Others can promote the health of more complex organisms, including birds and mammals. The health effects of most germs, however, remain unknown.
immune system: The collection of cells and their responses that help the body fight off infections and deal with foreign substances that may provoke allergies.
infect: (adj. infectious) To spread a disease from one organism to another. This usually involves introducing some sort of disease-causing germ to an…
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