WHAT IS A PANDEMIC

pandemic, n 

Meaning: 

A pandemic is an epidemic of an infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region, across a continent or the world 

Etymology: 

From Greek pan meaning all and demos meaning people 

Origin: 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a pandemic can start when three conditions are met: 
Emergence of a disease new to a population; 
Agents infect humans, causing illness; 
Agents spread easily and sustainably among humans A disease or condition is not a pandemic merely because it is widespread or kills many people; it must also be infectious. For instance, cancer is responsible for many deaths but is not considered a pandemic 

Current Significance: 

On Thursday, the WHO announced a swine flu pandemic. In the latter half of April, the WHO had raised its pandemic alert level for a new strain of Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 from three to five. But pandemic levels do not necessarily indicate the severity of a disease. The newly announced pandemic is the first on this level for 41 years. WHO director-general Dr Margaret Chan has confirmed that the H1N1 strain is a pandemic, with nearly 30,000 confirmed cases worldwide. 

History: 

A number of significant pandemics have been recorded. These include: 
The Plague of Athens, 430 BC: A Typhoid, which killed a quarter of the Athenian troops and a quarter of the population over four years. It fatally weakened Athens dominance of the Hellenic world. The sheer virulence of the fever prevented its wider spread. It killed off its hosts faster than they could spread it 
The Antonine Plague, 165180 BC: Possibly smallpox brought to the Italian peninsula by soldiers returning from the Near East. Killed a quarter of those infected and about five million people in all 
The Plague of Justinian, 541-750 AD: The first recorded outbreak of the Bubonic Plague. It started in Egypt and reached Constantinople the following spring, killing 10,000 a day at its height