what is a pandemic?

Answer 1

The previous answers are all correct. A pandemic is an infectious disease that afflicts individuals worldwide and affects any given community at a high rate.

Influenza A and B are the typical examples of this. Those viruses change a little bit year to year (Something called genetic drift). So, each year Influenza afflicts some people but not others and tends to not cause severe disease. Every once in a while, these viruses mutate greatly (something called genetic shift) and people's immune systems are not prepared for the big change. The result is more people are afflicted and the severity of disease is greater.

Often, the process of genetic shift is instigated when a normally animal born virus gains the ability to infect humans. Thus, the scare with the SARS outbreak a couple of years ago and why everyone is so afraid of the bird flu. Common thought is that once the avian flu gets the ability to routinely infect humans then we will have another great pandemic on our hands as we did with the 'swine' flu...

Answer 2

A Pandemic is a outbreak and spread of a contagious disease that could travel around the "world"and cause millions of deaths.That would usually be an "airborne" virus, easily spread by coughing and sneezing that could travel the world in perhaps less than a day,by ordinary folks on a trans oceanic flights, etc.The term,epidemic:,means confined outbreak of disease affecting city, state, regional, or national. Pandemic:muti-national,or international outbreak of disease.Take care.SW RNP

Answer 3

An epidemic which affects almost all the people of an area.

Answer 4

a communicable disease that is spreading out of control/ Think: bubonic plague, cholera, spanish flu of 1917......

Answer 5

its a disease outbreak WORLDWIDE..like hiv and aids