婴儿是大多数传染病的易感者,这是由于他们身体内免疫机能发育不健全,缺乏对疾病的抵抗力。半岁以内的婴儿从母体内获得了先天免疫力,可以暂时对疾病产生抵抗力。半岁以后,他们体内的先天免疫力逐渐消失,易感染疾病,并且多数传染病的发病率都很高。因此,父母必须具有传染病的预防和护理知识,及时采取措施,才能使婴儿的身体健康不受到传染病的影响。传染病由致病的细菌、病毒、原虫等病原体通过不同的途径传播给他人,从而使受传染者患病。患呼吸道传染病的病人,是通过空气传染的,其病原体生长繁殖在呼吸道里。当病人讲话、咳嗽、喷嚏、呼吸时,病原体随着唾沫飞散在空气中,健康人吸进被污染的空气就可能被传染患病。婴儿常见的呼吸道传染病有麻疹、百日咳、白喉、水痘、猩红热、腮腺炎、流脑、风疹、幼儿急疹等。 Infants are susceptible to most infectious diseases due to their poorly developed immune system and lack of resistance to the disease. Infants within six months of age receive innate immunity from the mother and can temporarily resist the disease. After six months of age, their body’s innate immunity gradually disappear, predispose to disease, and the incidence of most infectious diseases are high. Therefore, parents must have the knowledge of prevention and care of infectious diseases and take prompt measures to prevent the infants from being affected by infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are transmitted to other people by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, protozoa and other pathogens through different channels, thus making the affected people sick. Patients with respiratory infections are airborne and their pathogens proliferate in the respiratory tract. When the patient speaks, coughs, sneezes, or breathes, the pathogens scatter in the air as they spit, and healthy people may get infected as they inhale contaminated air. Common respiratory infections in infants are measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, chickenpox, scarlet fever, mumps, meningitis, rubella, children with acute rash.