What is the difference between pandemic, endemic, and epidemic?
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Pandemic, endemic, and epidemic are all terms that describe how far a disease or pathogen has spread within a geographical region or population.
Medically reviewed by Joseph Vinetz, MD
By Caitlin Geng
An endemic disease is one that is always present throughout a region or group of people and remains fairly consistent. An example of this is coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, which is endemic to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
An epidemic occurs when a disease unexpectedly increases among a large population or region. An example is ebola, which spread rapidly throughout West Africa in 2014–2016 .
A pandemic spreads across multiple countries or continents, affecting large numbers of people. An example of this is COVID-19, which results from a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 that first appeared in one region before spreading around the world.
In this article, we look at the differences between pandemic, endemic, and epidemic diseases. We also give more examples of e...
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