epidemic

ep·i·dem·ic

E0176800 (ĕp′ĭ-dĕm′ĭk) also ep·i·dem·i·cal (-ĭ-kəl)adj.1. Spreading rapidly and extensively by infection and affecting many individuals in an area or a population at the same time: an epidemic outbreak of influenza.2. Widely prevalent: epidemic discontent.n.1. An outbreak of a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widely.2. A rapid spread, growth, or development: an unemployment epidemic.

[French épidémique, from épidémie, an epidemic, from Old French espydymie, from Medieval Latin epidēmia, from Greek epidēmiā, prevalence of an epidemic disease, from epidēmos, prevalent : epi-, epi- + dēmos, people; see dā- in Indo-European roots.]

ep′i·dem′i·cal·ly adv.

epidemic

(ˌɛpɪˈdɛmɪk) adj (Medicine) (esp of a disease) attacking or affecting many persons simultaneously in a community or arean1. (Medicine) a widespread occurrence of a disease: an influenza epidemic. 2. a rapid development, spread, or growth of something, esp something unpleasant: an epidemic of strikes. [C17: from French épidémique, via Late Latin from Greek epidēmia literally: among the people, from epi- + dēmos people] ˌepiˈdemically adv

ep•i•dem•ic

(ˌɛp ɪˈdɛm ɪk)

adj. Also, ep`i•dem′i•cal. 1. (of a disease) affecting many individuals at the same time, and spreading from person to person in a locality where the disease is not permanently prevalent. 2. extremely prevalent; widespread. n. 3. a temporary prevalence of a disease. 4. a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something. [1595–1605; obsolete epidem(y) (< Late Latin epidēmia < Greek epidēmía stay in one place, prevalence =epi- epi- + dêm(os) people of a district]ep`i•dem′i•cal•ly, adv. ep`i•de•mic′i•ty (-dəˈmɪs ɪ ti) n.

ep·i·dem·ic

(ĕp′ĭ-dĕm′ĭk) An outbreak of a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widely. See Note at endemic.

epidemic

a disease that is widely prevalent in a particular area. — epidemical, adj. — epidemicity, n.See also: Disease and Illness

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	epidemic - a widespread outbreak of an infectious disease; many people are infected at the same timeoutbreak, irruption, eruption - a sudden violent spontaneous occurrence (usually of some undesirable condition); "the outbreak of hostilities"pandemic - an epidemic that is geographically widespread; occurring throughout a region or even throughout the world
Adj.	1.	epidemic - (especially of medicine) of disease or anything resembling a disease; attacking or affecting many individuals in a community or a population simultaneously; "an epidemic outbreak of influenza"medical specialty, medicine - the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniquesecdemic - of or relating to a disease that originates outside the locality in which it occursendemic, endemical - of or relating to a disease (or anything resembling a disease) constantly present to greater or lesser extent in a particular locality; "diseases endemic to the tropics"; "endemic malaria"; "food shortages and starvation are endemic in certain parts of the world"

epidemic

noun1. outbreak, plague, growth, spread, scourge, contagion A flu epidemic is sweeping through Britain.2. spate, plague, outbreak, wave, rash, eruption, upsurge an epidemic of racist crimesadjective1. widespread, wide-ranging, general, sweeping, prevailing, rampant, prevalent, rife, pandemic The abuse of crack has reached epidemic proportions in the US in recent years.

epidemic

nounA sudden increase in something, as the occurrence of a disease:outbreak, plague, rash.

Translations

流行流行病

epidemic

(epiˈdemik) noun an outbreak of a disease that spreads rapidly and attacks very many people. an epidemic of measles/influenza.流行病

epidemic

→ 流行zhCN

epidemic

epidemic,

outbreak of disease that affects a much greater number of people than is usual for the locality or that spreads to regions where it is ordinarily not present. A disease that tends to be restricted to a particular region (endemic disease) can become epidemic if nonimmune persons are present in large numbers (as in time of war or during pilgrimages), if the infectious agent is more virulent than usual, or if distribution of the disease is more easily effected. Choleracholera
or Asiatic cholera,
acute infectious disease caused by strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae that have been infected by bacteriophages. The bacteria, which are found in fecal-contaminated food and water and in raw or undercooked seafood, produce a
..... Click the link for more information. and plagueplague,
any contagious, malignant, epidemic disease, in particular the bubonic plague and the black plague (or Black Death), both forms of the same infection. These acute febrile diseases are caused by Yersinia pestis (Pasteurella pestis
..... Click the link for more information. , endemic in parts of Asia, can become epidemic under the above conditions, as can dysenterydysentery
, inflammation of the intestine characterized by the frequent passage of feces, usually with blood and mucus. The two most common causes of dysentery are infection with a bacillus (see bacteria) of the Shigella group, and infestation by an ameba,
..... Click the link for more information. and many other infections. Epidemics, often now simply called "outbreaks" by epidemiologists, may also be caused by new disease agents in the human population, such as the Ebola virusEbola virus
, a virus of the genus Ebolavirus, which belongs to a family (Filoviridae) of RNA viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers. The viruses, named for the region in Congo (Kinshasa) where the first species was first identified in 1976, emerged from the rain
..... Click the link for more information. . A worldwide epidemic is known as a pandemic, e.g., the influenzainfluenza
or flu,
acute, highly contagious disease caused by a RNA virus (family Orthomyxoviridae); formerly known as the grippe. There are three types of the virus, designated A, B, and C, but only types A and B cause more serious contagious infections.
..... Click the link for more information. pandemic of 1918 or the AIDSAIDS
or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome,
fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutating retrovirus that attacks the immune system and leaves the victim vulnerable to infections, malignancies, and neurological disorders. It was first recognized as a disease in 1981.
..... Click the link for more information. pandemic beginning in the 1980s. Officially, the World Health Organization considers any disease outbreak that is spreading unchecked in two different regions of the worlds to be a pandemic; classification as a pandemic is not an indicator of the severity of a disease. A disease is said to be sporadic when only a few cases occur here and there in a given region. Epidemic disease is controlled by various measures, depending on whether transmission is through respiratory droplets, food and water contaminated with intestinal wastes, insect vectors, or other means. The Centers for Disease Control and PreventionCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center.
..... Click the link for more information. tracks epidemics in the United States.

See also epdemiologyepidemiology,
field of medicine concerned with the study of epidemics, outbreaks of disease that affect large numbers of people. Epidemiologists, using sophisticated statistical analyses, field investigations, and complex laboratory techniques, investigate the cause of a
..... Click the link for more information. .

Epidemic

The occurrence of cases of disease in excess of what is usually expected for a given period of time. Epidemics are commonly thought to involve outbreaks of acute infectious disease, such as measles, polio, or streptococcal sore throat. More recently, other types of health-related events such as homicide, drownings, and even hysteria have been considered to occur as “epidemics.”

Confusion sometimes arises because of overlap between the terms epidemic, outbreak, and cluster. Although they are closely related, epidemic may be used to suggest problems that are geographically widespread, while outbreak and cluster are reserved for problems that involve smaller numbers of people or are more sharply defined in terms of the area of occurrence. For example, an epidemic of influenza could involve an entire state or region, whereas an outbreak of gastroenteritis might be restricted to a nursing home, school, or day-care center. The term cluster may be used to refer to noncommunicable disease states.

In contrast to epidemics, endemic problems are distinguished by their consistently high levels over a long period of time. Lung cancer in males has been endemic in the United States, whereas the surge of lung cancer cases in women in the United States represents an epidemic problem that has resulted from increase in cigarette smoking among women in general. A pandemic is closely related to an epidemic, but it is a problem that has spread over a considerably larger geographic area; influenza pandemics are often global.

Disease and epidemics occur as a result of the interaction of three factors, agent, host, and environment. Agents cause the disease, hosts are susceptible to it, and environmental conditions permit host exposure to the agent. An understanding of the interaction between agent, host, and environment is crucial for the selection of the best approach to prevent or control the continuing spread of an epidemic.

For infectious diseases, epidemics can occur when large numbers of susceptible persons are exposed to infectious agents in settings or under circumstances that permit the spread of the agent. Spread of an infectious disease depends primarily on the chain of transmission of an agent: a source of the agent, a route of exit from the host, a suitable mode of transmission between the susceptible host and the source, and a route of entry into another susceptible host. Modes of spread may involve direct physical contact between the infected host and the new host, or airborne spread, such as coughing or sneezing. Indirect transmission takes place through vehicles such as contaminated water, food, or intravenous fluids; inanimate objects such as bedding, clothes, or surgical instruments; or a biological vector such as a mosquito or flea. See Epidemiology, Infectious disease

Epidemic

the spread of an infectious human disease that substantially exceeds the ordinary (sporadic) sick rate in a particular area.

Epidemics are caused by social and biological factors. Their basis is the epidemic process, that is, the continuous transmission of the causative agent of the infection and an unbroken chain of successively developing and interdependent infectious conditions (disease, bacteria carrier state) in a group of people. The spread of a disease is sometimes pandemic in nature; in other words, under certain natural or sociohygienic conditions, a comparatively high incidence of a disease may be recorded in a particular area over a long period of time.

The origin and course of an epidemic are influenced both by processes occurring under natural conditions (natural focality, epizootic) and, especially, by social factors (public utilities, living conditions, quality of health care). Depending on the nature of the disease, the main routes by which an infection spreads during an epidemic may be water and food, as in dysentery and typhoid; airborne droplets, as in influenza; and person-to-person transmission, as in malaria and typhus. Often the causative agent is transmitted by several means.

The study of epidemics and methods of controlling them is called epidemiology.

epidemic

[¦ep·ə¦dem·ik] (medicine) A sudden increase in the incidence rate of a disease to a value above normal, affecting large numbers of people and spread over a wide area.

epidemic

1. (esp of a disease) attacking or affecting many persons simultaneously in a community or area 2. a widespread occurrence of a disease

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Synonyms for epidemic

noun outbreak

Synonyms

noun spate

Synonyms

adj widespread

Synonyms

Synonyms for epidemic

noun a sudden increase in something, as the occurrence of a disease

Synonyms

Antonyms for epidemic

noun a widespread outbreak of an infectious disease

Related Words

adj (especially of medicine) of disease or anything resembling a disease

Related Words

Antonyms