Endemic (epidemiology)

In epidemiology, an infection is said to be endemic in a population when that infection is constantly maintained at a baseline level in a geographic area without external inputs. For example, chickenpox is endemic (steady state) in the UK, but malaria is not. Every year, there are a few cases of malaria acquired in the UK, but these do not lead to sustained transmission in the population due to the absence of an appropriate vector (mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles).

Definition

Endemic diseases are often contrasted with epidemic diseases and pandemic diseases. An endemic disease is one which is constantly present in a given area, though usually at low levels, whereas an epidemic disease is one which has seen an increase in prevalence above what is expected, and a pandemic disease is an epidemic which has spread over multiple countries or continents.

Examples

Some examples of diseases endemic to certain areas include malaria in parts of Africa, HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa, and Lyme disease in North America and Europe.

Control

Control of endemic diseases often involves a combination of several different types of interventions, including vaccination, vector control, treatment of disease cases, improvements in sanitation and health education.

See also

• Epidemic
• Pandemic
• Eradication of infectious diseases
• List of diseases eliminated from the United States

Endemic (epidemiology)

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