Is rosacea contagious?

The answer is no. Rosacea is not considered a contagious disease. This is often mistakenly believed, particularly due to the use of antibiotics (such as doxycycline) by patients suffering from rosacea. However, these antibiotics are used here for their action anti-inflammatory in order to reduce the papules and pustules associated with this disease. There is no evidence to suggest that rosacea can be transmitted through skin contact or by inhaling airborne bacteria.

However, some recent studies have attempted to observe a possible link between contamination by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that infects the gastric mucosa, and rosacea. Reza PIRI and his team demonstrated in a study that out of 63 patients suffering from rosacea, 40 (63.4%) had a positive H. pylori stool antigen. Given that H. pylori can be transmitted through direct contact with the saliva or faeces of an infected person, it can be hypothesised that rosacea could be transmitted via this bacterium.

However, the association would actually be more between the infection by H. pylori and the severity of rosacea, not its onset. Studies have found that although the eradication treatment of H. pylori does not completely treat rosacea, it does reduce its severity. The mechanism would be as follows: the infection by H. pylori can trigger a cytotoxic reaction leading to the release of TNF-α and IL-8 due to the cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) virulence factor, thereby exacerbating the inflammatory response involved in the pathophysiology of rosacea.

To date, no association between H. pylori and the onset of rosacea has been demonstrated, therefore it remains impossible to contract through contagion.