Previous Year Question
If a human disease breaks out across a large region of the world, what is it called?
Pandemic
Epidemic
Endemic
Epizootic
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
When an outbreak of an infectious disease is no longer confined to a particular region or country and spreads across a very large geographical area, multiple countries or continents, it is called a Pandemic.
It is useful to understand the distinction among these terms—
Endemic — A disease remains continuously or normally present in a particular region or population.
Epidemic — The number of cases of a disease rises suddenly above the normally expected level in a particular region or population.
Pandemic — A very widespread form of an epidemic in which a disease spreads extensively across several countries or continents.
Epizootic — This term is used for a disease outbreak among animals; it is not the equivalent of a pandemic in a human population.
For example, WHO characterized COVID-19 as a Pandemic on 11 March 2020.