endemic
/ɛnˈdɛmɪk
/adjective
1(Of a disease or condition) regularly found among particular people or in a certain area: complacency is endemic in industry today...
- Parasitic infections are endemic among this population.
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever is endemic in North, Central, and South America.
- Poverty is endemic in the South and it is spreading to the North.
1.1 [attributive] (Of an area) in which a particular disease is regularly found: the persistence of infection on pastures in endemic areas...
- The shaded area indicates the endemic zone of Argentine hemorrhagic fever
- Examples calling for immunization include travel to endemic areas or intravenous drug use during pregnancy.
- Leishmaniasis should be considered in any person from an endemic area who has chronic localized skin lesions.
2(Of a plant or animal) native or restricted to a certain place: a marsupial endemic to north-eastern Australia...
- About 221 plant species are endemic to this peninsular state.
- Most of the Chinese Impatiens species are endemic to the country or are restricted to a number of provinces.
- However, many other species are endemic to the North and many more seasonal migrants depend on northern environments for a significant part of their life history.
noun
An endemic plant or animal: there are three types of island endemics...
- Most species of Metagentiana are herbaceous local endemics growing in alpine scrub, meadows and coniferous forests.
- The plant communities of southern Appalachian wetlands include endemics that exist in the unique microhabitats of the region.
- Thus, low temperatures have led to selection for a high proportion of local endemics and species endemic to mountain peaks.
Derivatives
endemically
/ adverb ...- We're saying this money saved is to be spent on health and education when we know it's going to countries that are institutionally and endemically corrupt.
- Ever since my first encounter with French literature in my teens I have always thought French culture was endemically corrupt and devoid of any morality.
- Crucially, it provides an account of why humans are so endemically prone to addictive behaviour.
endemicity
/ noun ...- Among healthy persons living in a region of low endemicity, the false-positive rate with serology is about 2 to 5 percent.
- Areas with high endemicity include the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East, Central Asia, Chile, and Argentina.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that Americans traveling to certain areas of high endemicity be vaccinated with hepatitis A vaccine.
endemism
/ nounsense 2 of the adjective. ...- The floral and faunal endemism is a high 20 per cent.
- Those mountains are biogeographically complex and exhibit high species endemism.
- We are the only tropical island group with this high rate of endemism.
Origin
Mid 17th century (as a noun): from French endémique or modern Latin endemicus, from Greek endēmios 'native' (based on dēmos 'people').