In epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people) occurs when new cases of a certain disease occur in a given human population, during a given period, substantially exceed what is "expected," based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during a specified period of time is called the "incidence rate"). (An epizootic is the analogous circumstance within an animal population.) In recent usages, the disease is not required to be communicable; examples include cancer or heart disease.
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In epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people) occurs when new cases of a certain disease occur in a given human population, during a given period, substantially exceed what is "expected," based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during a specified period of time is called the "incidence rate"). (An epizootic is the analogous circumstance within an animal population.) In recent usages, the disease is not required to be communicable; examples include cancer or heart disease.
Classification
Defining an epidemic can be subjective, depending in part on what is "expected". An epidemic may be restricted to one locale (an outbreak), more general (an "epidemic") or even global (pandemic). Because it is based on what is "expected" or thought normal, a few cases of a very rare disease may be classified as an "epidemic," while many cases of a common disease (such as the common cold) would not.
Endemic diseases
Common diseases that occur at a constant but relatively low rate in the population are said to be "endemic." An example of an endemic disease is malaria in some parts of Africa (for example, Liberia) in which a large portion of the population is expected to get malaria at some point in their lifetime.
Non-infectious disease usage
The term "epidemic" is often used in a sense to refer to widespread and growing societal problems, for example, in discussions of obesity or drug addiction. It can also be used metaphorically to relate a type of problem like those mentioned above.
Notable epidemics through history
Famous examples of epidemics include HIV (present), the pandemic of the 14th century known as the Black Death, and the Great Influenza Pandemic which coincided with the end of World War I.
Factors stimulating new epidemics
Factors that have been described by Mark Woolhouse and Sonya Gowtage-Sequeria to stimulate the rise of new epidemics include:
- Alterations in agricultural practices and land use
- Changes in society and human demographics
- Poor population health (e.g. malnutrition, high prevalence of HIV, ...)
- Hospitals and medical procedures
- Evolution of the pathogen (e.g. increased virulence, drug resistance,)
- Contamination of water supplies and food sources
- International travel
- Failure of public health programs
- International trade
- Climate change
Several other factors have also been mentioned in different reports, such as the report by professor Andy Dobson and the report by professor Akilesh Mishra .These include :
- Reduced levels of biodiversity (e.g. through environmental destruction)
- Bad urban planning
Pre-emptive measures
To protect us against the emergence of new epidemics, several preemptive measures have been proposed by the World Health Organisation .
