The purpose of this glossary is to clarify the key terms used on this site and to make the content easier to understand.
Endemic: Persistence of an infectious disease in a population or region
Epidemic: Rapid spread of a disease, usually contagious and of infectious origin, in geographically circumscribed populations. This definition tends to extend to non-infectious diseases such as allergies.
Epizootic : An epidemic affecting animals
Emerging disease : New disease erupting in the human or animal population
Re-emerging disease : An old or virtually extinct disease that reappears as a result of environmental changes
Pandemic: Epidemic affecting the entire population of a continent or the entire world
Zoonosis: infectious animal disease that can be transmitted to humans
