Diseases

Unit 3
Disease Outbreak
A disease outbreak happens when a disease
occurs in greater numbers than expected in a
community, region or during a season.

Can last from days to years.

Sometimes a single disease can be considered

an outbreak (if it is a new disease in a new
place).
Epidemic vs. Pandemic

Both terms refer to the spread of

infectious disease in a population.

They refer to the rate of infection and/or

the area that is affected.

There are two main differences in the

two.
Epidemic
An illness or health related issue that is showing up in
more cases than would normally be expected.

It occurs when an infectious disease spreads rapidly to

many people.

2003-SARS took lives of 800 people worldwide.

Malaria can reach epidemic levels in Africa, but is not a

threat worldwide, so would not become a pandemic.
Pandemic

Pandemic is used to indicate a far higher

number of people affected than an
epidemic.

Pandemic refers to a larger region being

affected (most serious case would be a
global pandemic).
Pandemic
A flu strain can start out as an epidemic, but
can become a pandemic (this is not unusual for
a new virus because peoples immune systems
have not been exposed to it and are not ready
to fight it off).

Swine flu (started in Mexico City and is now in

New Zealand, Israel, Scotland and many other
countries).
Pandemic

The 1918 Spanish Flu and the Black

Plague are extreme examples of
pandemics.

Keep in mind, that a pandemic does NOT

necessarily mean millions of deaths, it
means that it is a geographically
widespread epidemic.