Pandemic
A Pandemic is an epidemic that spreads across a large region, typically affecting multiple countries or continents, and impacts a significant portion of the population.
- Context:
- It can (often) cause widespread illness and death, leading to significant social, economic, and political disruption.
- It can range from being a Viral Pandemic to being a Bacterial Pandemic to being a Parasitic Pandemic.
- It can range from being a Localized Outbreak to a Global Health Crisis.
- It can trigger public health responses such as quarantines, travel restrictions, and mass vaccination campaigns.
- It can lead to long-term changes in public health policies and practices.
- It can require coordinated efforts from international organizations, governments, and healthcare systems.
- It can have significant psychological and societal impacts, including fear, stigma, and changes in behavior.
- ...
- Example(s):
- Plague of Athens (430-426 BC): Cause uncertain, possibly typhoid fever, affecting Athens during the Peloponnesian War and leading to significant population loss.
- Antonine Plague (165-180): Believed to be either smallpox or measles, affecting the Roman Empire and causing high mortality among soldiers and civilians.
- Cyprian Plague (250-266): Possibly caused by smallpox or measles, affecting the Roman Empire, causing widespread disease and societal disruption.
- Plague Of Justinian (541-542): Caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, affecting the Byzantine Empire and surrounding areas.
- The Black Death (1346-1353): Another outbreak of Yersinia pestis, devastating Europe and leading to massive loss of life.
- Third Cholera Pandemic (1846-1860): Spread by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, originating in India and spreading globally.
- Flu Pandemic (1889-1890): Caused by the H2N2 influenza A virus, impacting worldwide populations.
- Sixth Cholera Pandemic (1899-1923): Another wave of cholera primarily affecting the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and Russia.
- 1918 H1N1 Flu Pandemic: Known as the Spanish Flu, caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus, resulting in high mortality globally.
- Flu Pandemic (1968): Caused by the H3N2 influenza A virus, also known as the Hong Kong Flu, affecting worldwide populations.
- HIV/AIDS Pandemic: Caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), first identified in the 1980s and still ongoing, affecting global populations.
- 2009 Flu Pandemic: Caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus, originating in Mexico and spreading worldwide, also known as the Swine Flu.
- COVID-19 Pandemic: Caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, originating in Wuhan, China, and leading to global disruption starting in late 2019.
- …
- Example(s):
- Counter-Example(s):
- a Viral Meme.
- See: Communicable Disease, Endemic Disease, Influenza Pandemic, Seasonal Flu, Smallpox, Tuberculosis.
References
2020
- (Wikipedia, 2020) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pandemic Retrieved:2020-3-12.
- A pandemic (from Greek πᾶν pan "all" and δῆμος demos "people") is a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or worldwide.
A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic. Further, flu pandemics generally exclude recurrences of seasonal flu. Throughout history, there have been a number of pandemics of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis. One of the most devastating pandemics was the Black Death, which killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th century. The current pandemics are HIV/AIDS and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Other recent pandemics include the 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu) and the 2009 flu pandemic (H1N1).
- A pandemic (from Greek πᾶν pan "all" and δῆμος demos "people") is a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or worldwide.