(かんせんしょう)

かんせんしょう
noun
infectious disease
1. infectious disease; communicable disease
A disease caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, or parasites that can spread from person to person or through other means of transmission.
感染症(かんせんしょう)流行(りゅうこう)している。
An infectious disease is spreading.
新型(しんがた)感染症(かんせんしょう)注意(ちゅうい)してください。
Please be careful of the new infectious disease.
政府(せいふ)感染症(かんせんしょう)拡大(かくだい)(ふせ)ぐために対策(たいさく)発表(はっぴょう)した。
The government announced measures to prevent the spread of the infectious disease.

USAGE:
A formal medical and public health term frequently used in news reports and official announcements. Became especially prominent in everyday Japanese during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 感染症(かんせんしょう)予防(よぼう) (disease prevention)
  • 感染症(かんせんしょう)拡大(かくだい) (spread of disease)
  • 感染症(かんせんしょう)対策(たいさく) (disease countermeasures)
  • 感染症(かんせんしょう)(ほう) (Infectious Disease Control Law)

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 伝染病(でんせんびょう): contagious disease (older term, still used)
  • 疫病(えきびょう): epidemic, plague (literary or historical)