What’s the difference between endemic, epidemic and pandemic?
The WHO defines pandemics, epidemics, and endemic diseases based on a disease’s rate of spread.
Thus, the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic isn’t in the severity of the disease, but the degree to which it has spread.
What does ‘endemic’ mean?
A disease outbreak is endemic when it is consistently present but limited to a particular region.
This makes the disease spread and rates predictable. Malaria, for example, is considered endemic in certain countries and regions.
What is an epidemic?
An epidemic as an unexpected increase in the number of disease cases in a specific geographical area.
Yellow fever, smallpox, measles, and polio are prime examples of epidemics.
An epidemic disease doesn’t necessarily have to be an infection or contagious. For example the rapid increase in obesity rates are also considered epidemics.
Epidemics can also refer to specific health-related behaviour (e.g., smoking) with rates that are clearly above the expected occurrence in a community or region.
What is a pandemic?
The World Health Organization (WHO) declares a pandemic when a disease’s growth is exponential.
This means the growth rate skyrockets, and each day cases grow more than the previous day. If a virus (or other organism) is declared a pandemic, it has nothing to do with the immunity of the population, or disease severity.
It means a virus covers a wide area, affecting several countries and populations.
What’s the difference between a pandemic and epidemic?
The WHO distinguishes pandemics and epidemics, based on a disease’s rate of spread.
Thus, the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic is not the severity of the disease, but the rate and degree to which it has spread.
A pandemic cuts across international boundaries, as opposed to regional epidemics. This wide geographical reach is what makes pandemics lead to large-scale social disruption, economic loss, and general hardship.
Summary
We have explained what’s the difference between an endemic, epidemic and pandemic. We hope you understand it better now.
