Definitions for endemic, epidemic, pandemic, sporadic, etc. ************************************************************************ as of 12 December 1997 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Lyme Disease Surveillance Case Definition (revised September 1996) D. Disease endemic to county A county in which Lyme disease is endemic is one in which at least two definite cases have been previously acquired or in which a known tick vector has been shown to be infected with B. burgdorferi. [I presume that the CDC means that the two cases must occur within the same year.] http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/casedef2.htm [NOTE: If you do not intend to read them all, at least read the next one and the last one!] ---------- [Definitions from another tutorial for medical students from another Dr Ed, and a pathologist! - let's not send comments on this page!] Ed Friedlander, M.D., Pathologist INFECTIOUS DISEASE INTRODUCING THE INFECTIOUS DISEASES Bug terminology: Epidemic: An outbreak of infectious disease. The origin of epidemics in Darwin's world: Science 257: 1073, 1992. Endemic: A never-ending epidemic Pandemic: An epidemic involving the whole world http://worldmall.com/erf/lectures/infect.htm ---------- "Medical Microbiology" Chapter 9 (Epidemiology by Philip S. Brachman) The spectrum of occurrence of disease in a defined population includes sporadic (occasional occurrence); endemic (regular, continuing occurrence); epidemic (significantly increased occurrence); and pandemic (epidemic occurrence in multiple countries). http://129.109.136.65/microbook/ch009.htm ---------- From HealthAnswers on internet endemic: A term that refers to a disease that occurs continuously in a specific area or population but has a low mortality rate. Example: measles, chicken pox. Opposite of epidemic. http://www.healthanswers.com/database/ami/converted/002362.html ---------- A Dictionary of Epidemiology This dictionary is brought to you by the Centre for the Epidemiology of Infectious Disease, University of Oxford, UK, Copyright 1994, 1995. Endemic A term to describe levels of infection which do not exhibit wide fluctuations through time in a defined place. For microparasites like measles, the term is used slightly differently to indicate an infection which can persist in a population in the long term without needing to be reintroduced from outside. Stable endemicity is where the incidence of infection or disease shows no secular trend for increase or decrease. Endemic fadeout Parasite extinction occurring because endemic levels are so low that it is possible for small stochastic fluctuations to remove all parasites. Contrast epidemic fadeout. Epidemic A rapid increase in the levels of an infection. Typical of the microparasitic infections (with long lasting immunity and short generation times) an epidemic is usually heralded by an exponential rise in the number of cases in time and a subsequent decline as susceptible numbers are exhausted. Epidemics may arise from the introduction of a novel pathogen (or strain) to a previously unexposed (naive) population or as a result of the regrowth of susceptible numbers some time after a previous epidemic due to the same infectious agent. Contrast endemic, pandemic. Epidemic fadeout Parasite extinction occurring because numbers are so low immediately following an epidemic that it is possible for small stochastic fluctuations to remove all parasites. Contrast endemic fadeout. Pandemic An epidemic widely distributed in space. http://otpt.ups.edu/Medicine/Epidemiology_Dictionary.html ---------- Washington State University MICROBIOLOGY 101 INTERNET TEXT CHAPTER XV: PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY PATTERNS AND EXTENT OF DISEASES: ENDEMIC = Refers to the fact that a particular disease is NORMALLY FOUND IN A PARTICULAR AREA. For example, AIDS in endemic now in most countries in the world; respiratory infections are endemic in the world; malaria is endemic in the southern hemisphere; lyme disease is endemic in a number of states in the US. With the ability of people to rapidly travel around the world, we are nearing the day when we can say that every infectious agent is ENDEMIC TO PLANET EARTH. EPIDEMIC = a relatively SUDDEN INCREASE in the number of cases of a particular disease in a PARTICULAR PLACE OR AREA. For example, we can have a local epidemic of the Palouse trots or the WSU flu, or we may have an epidemic of flu in the US or a cholera epidemic in Bolivia and Mexico etc. The area and the number of increased cases are always part of the description of any epidemic. PANDEMIC = An epidemic that encompasses the ENTIRE WORLD. AIDS is a pandemic; the flu is often pandemic. In the past pandemics were rare, but through the combination of world wide rapid travel and the burgeoning human population (>5.6 billion), pandemics are likely to be increasingly in our future. http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~hurlbert/pages/Chap15.html#Disease_patterns From the same web site: Glossary of Microbiology [searchable] epidemic A disease occurring in an unusually high number of individuals in a population at the same time. endemic A disease that is constantly present in low numbers in a population. pandemic A worldwide epidemic. http://www.hardlink.com/~tsute/glossary/index.html ---------- [The U.S. Air Force's definitions - One of my previous employers!] Infection Control Tip-of-the-Week Thanks to Captain Michael Hand, P.A., Infection Control Officer at the 66th Medical Group, here on Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts for providing the following INFECTION CONTROL TIPS. In an effort to educate the clinic as much as possible in the arena of infection control, I am going to throw a couple of definitions your way. Several words you may hear in relationship to disease and illness, (as in widespread flu), are -endemic, -pandemic, and -epidemic. What do these words mean. 1. ENDEMIC- the constant presence of a disease or infectious agent within a given geographic area, or unusual prevalence of a given disease within such areas. 2. PANDEMIC- an infection spreading over a whole country or the world, and 3. EPIDEMIC- (the most familiar word of the three which isoften misused in place of the other two),-- the occurrence in a community or region of cases of an illness or outbreak with a frequency clearly in excess of normal expectancy. So there you have it - simple clarification , words to use properly in you own next infectious control conversation. This has been your infection control tip-of-the-week. http://www.hanscom.af.mil/Orgs/66ABW/Medgrp/docs/infect.htm ---------- PAE Glossary A "Plants, Animals, and the Environment" glossary derived from leading WCB/McGraw-Hill textbooks in zoology, botany, environmental science and marine biology. endemic - (Gr. en, in, + demos, populace). Peculiar to a certain region or country; native to a restricted area; not introduced. epidemic - Sharp rise in the incidence of an infection or disease. http://www.mhcollege.com/biosci/pae/glossary.html (huge - 808K) ---------- Webtionary The Longest Medical Word and other Treasures by Barbara Grow Endemic: disease with low death rate. Epidemic: disease that breaks out, spreads rapidly, high death rate. Pandemic: disease that occurs over a wide area and affects a large portion of the population. http://www.mtdaily.com/mt1/lists/webary.html ---------- University of Western Ontario [Canada] Department of Microbiology and Immunology Glossary of Terms for Biology 221a endemic: the state of a disease such that the numbers of casesreported annually is constant and not increasing. epidemic: the state of a disease such that the numbers of cases reported annually is increasing rapidly in a population within a defined geographical area. pandemic: an epidemic present simultaneously in many countries, perhaps globally. http://www.mni.uwo.ca/Bio221a/glossry.html ---------- Multilingual Glossary of technical and popular medical terms in nine European Languages endemic: (Gr. endmos dwelling in a place) present or usually prevalent in a population or geographical area at all times; said of a disease or agent. Called also endemial. Cf. epidemic. epidemic: (Gr. epidmios prevalent) occurring suddenly in numbers clearly in excess of normal expectancy; said especially of infectious diseases but applied also to any disease, injury, or other health-related event occurring in such outbreaks. Cf. endemic and sporadic. sporadic: (Gr. sporadikos scattered; L. sporadicus) neither endemic nor epidemic; occurring occasionally in a random or isolated manner. http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~rvdstich/eugloss/welcome.html ---------- Environmental Protection Agency Office Of Water Drinking Water Glossary A Dictionary of Technical and Legal Terms Related to Drinking Water endemic (en-DEM-ick). Something peculiar to a particular people or locality, such as a disease which is always present in the population. epidemic. Widespread outbreak of a disease, or a large number of cases of a disease in a single community or relatively small area. Disease may spread from person to person, and/or by the exposure of many persons to a single source, such as a water supply. http://www.epa.gov/OW/pubs/gloss2.html ---------- Jerald D. Hendrix Professor of Biology Kennesaw State University Glossary Endemic Disease A disease condition that is normally found in a certain percentage of a population Epidemic Disease A disease condition present in a greater than usual percentage of a specific population Pandemic An epidemic affecting a large geographical area; often on a global scale http://science.kennesaw.edu/~jhendrix/glossary.htm ---------- [And last, but least:] American Family Physician Recognition and Management of Lyme Disease MARY E. VERDON, M.D. Hunterdon Medical Center Family Practice Residency Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington, New Jersey LEONARD H. SIGAL, M.D. University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey­Robert Wood Johnson Medical School New Brunswick, New Jersey Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, has an annual incidence of 0.5 percent in endemic areas. http://www.aafp.org/family/afp/970800ap/lymedis.html ---------- [There, doesn't that make it much clearer!] Prepared by Art Doherty doherty@utech.net