Epidemic

An epidemic is a disease whose spread occurs during a certain period of time in a specific geographic region and that affects many individuals simultaneously. It is a notion used by community health to refer to the fact that the disease reaches a greater number of people than expected .

This implies the existence of incidence levels that are considered normal for a disease. A certain number of affected people, therefore, is expected by specialists at a given time. When the number of patients exceeds this average, it is called an epidemic (there are a greater number of cases compared to the expected cases).

The scientific discipline that is responsible for the analysis of epidemics is known as epidemiology . Epidemiologists are dedicated to studying the distribution, frequency and determinants of factors linked to diseases in a human community. Epidemiology, therefore, combines notions of medicine with principles of social sciences to help control diseases and predict possible epidemiological outbreaks.

From epidemic to pandemic and endemic

When the epidemic spreads across several countries, it becomes a pandemic . The etymological origin of this word means "disease of all the people" . The pandemic usually occurs due to the appearance of a new virus (for which there is no type of immunity at that time), as happened in 2019 with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 .

On the other hand, when the epidemic remains in the same area for a prolonged period of time it becomes endemic . This is the case of malaria in several African countries.

Historical tragedies

Throughout history many tragedies have taken place as a consequence of the poor organization of societies . Without going any further, in the last 200 years, millions of people have died due to different pests that have not been controlled in time. Among the most important epidemics of these years, in addition to the aforementioned COVID-19 pandemic, are:

The plague of the Peloponnesian War : It took place in Athens in 430 BC and claimed the lives of around 30 thousand inhabitants. It was the first pandemic on record.
The Antonine Plague : It was spread through a group of Roman soldiers in this town in 165 AD. Around 5 thousand people died, among whom was the Emperor Marcus Aurelius . Later, the number increased to 5 million, when it became the great Smallpox pandemic that hit this country.
The Plague of Justinian : It was the first major spread of bubonic plague and took place between 541 and 542 AD among the inhabitants of Constantinople . It claimed the lives of more than 10 thousand people. Today it is estimated that the bubonic plague has killed a total of 200 million people over the years.
The Black Death : it is believed to have been transmitted by nomadic merchants from India to many countries. It took place in the 14th century and killed 25 million people (a quarter of the world's population).
The Spanish Flu : consisted of a rare version of the Influenza virus . It was known as "La Cucaracha" , it took place in 1918 (at the end of the First World War ) and was suffered by 1,000 million people throughout the globe.

It is important to note in conclusion that the governments of different countries are afraid to give the warning signal in the face of these catastrophes for fear of alarming the population . However, this measure only helps make these situations more risky, since people (because they are uninformed) do not act preventively .