Another Andalusian-Arabian physician , Ibn al-Khatib ( 1313 â `` 1374 ) in his treatise On the Plague stated how infectious disease can be transmitted through bodily contact and `` through garments , vessels and earrings . Another 14th century Andalusian-Arabian physician , Ibn al-Khatib ( 1313 â `` 1374 ) , wrote a treatise called On the Plague , in which he stated how infectious disease can be transmitted through bodily contact and `` through garments , vessels and earrings . ''