Is disgust in obsessive-compulsive disorder mediated by fear of pathogens?

•We examined how physical disgust is related to disease vulnerability and OCD.•Participants rated their disgust in response to pictures that evoke physical disgust.•OCD symptoms were related to the physical disgust evoked by the pictures.•This was mediated by discomfort in contexts that connote pathogen transmission.•Disgust in OCD is a basic emotion that may be mediated by fear of pathogens.