Epidemic

An epidemic is a disease that spreads over a large area and affects many people at the same time. Epidemics are when a disease spreads from person to person faster than doctors can control. If the disease spreads over the whole world, sometimes it is called a pandemic.

Such diseases must be treated quickly and properly otherwise they can infect people on large scale and pose a danger to the world. It is very important that timely vaccination and treatment is provided. The study of epidemics is part of epidemiology.

Epidemic Media

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  Example of an epidemic showing the number of new infections over time.

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  The Plague of Athens (c. 1652–1654) by Michiel Sweerts, illustrating the devastating epidemic that struck Athens in 430 BC, as described by the historian Thucydides

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  Illustration depicting the different mechanisms of antigenic shift and antigenic drift

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  Anopheles mosquito, the vector of malaria

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  Possibilities for zoonotic disease transmissions