New Delhi: Every year on December 27, International Day of Epidemic Preparedness is observed to highlight the urgent need to invest in systems that can prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. As we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, major infectious diseases and epidemics can have a devastating effect on human society and wreak immense havoc.
In many countries today, health systems are overstretched by any kind of crisis which impacts the livelihoods of people. Hence, the observation of this day is important. What is also important is to be able to distinguish between endemic, epidemic and pandemic. While we tend to use these terms interchangeably, there is a basic difference between them.
Endemic, epidemic and pandemic: What is the difference?
What is endemic?
The outbreak of a disease is known as endemic which it is present consistently but is limited to a particular region, which makes the spread and rates of the disease predictable. For example, in some countries, malaria is classified as endemic. In the United Kingdom, chickenpox is considered as an endemic. In endemic, the infection is present constantly or maintained at a baseline level, without extra infections being brought into the group as a result of travel or similar means.
What is epidemic?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), epidemic occurs when there is an unexpected rise in the case numbers due to a disease in a specific area. It may not be contagious and can refer to a disease or other health-related behaviour whose rate goes above the expected occurrence in a region or a community. Some examples of epidemics are yellow feever, measles, smallpox, polio, West Nile fever and even rapid increase in obesity rates. In epidemic, a disease spreads rapidly in a given population within a short period of time.
What is pandemic?
According to World Health Organization (WHO), a pandemic takes place when a disease spreads at an exponential rate. The rate of spread of the disease skyrockets, and every day the numbers of cases grow more than the previous day. In a pandemic, the virus has nothing to do with virology, population immunity, or disease severity. In pandemic, the virus covers a wide area, affecting several countries and populations. A prime example of pandemic is the COVID-19 pandemic.
How is pandemic and epidemic different?
Pandemic and epidemic are different in the degree of the spread of the disease. with virology, population immunity, or disease severity. While pandemic takes place across multiple countries, epidemic mainly takes place in a particular region. An epidemic is generally contained in its spread while pandemic goes international and out of control.
International Day of Epidemic Preparedness on December 27 highlights the critical need for robust systems to prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. The day underscores the devastating impact of epidemics and pandemics, like COVID-19. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
