An epidemic is when a disease spreads rapidly and suddenly for a relatively short period of time. This is different from endemic because it is generally unexpected and unpredictable. Epidemics of disease can spread and cause huge amounts of death and suffering in a very short period of time – the recent outbreaks of H1N1 Swine Flu and Avian flu in past years have spread fear that a major epidemic could be on the horizon.

Tags: endemic, epidemic, health cause