Pandemic vs. Epidemic: What's the Difference?
Read the comparison below, or explore it visually. Create a visual lesson comparing pandemic and epidemic using available credits or plan allowance.
An epidemic is a rise in cases of a disease well above the normal level within one community or region, while a pandemic is an epidemic that has spread across many countries or continents. The difference is about geographic reach, not how deadly the disease is. A pandemic always begins as a local outbreak that keeps spreading from person to person beyond borders.
At a glance
| Pandemic | Epidemic | |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic spread | Many countries or continents at once | One community, city, country or region |
| Scale of cases | Very large numbers worldwide | Far above the usual level, but locally |
| How it starts | Usually grows out of an epidemic that crosses borders | Often grows out of a local outbreak |
| Typical cause | Often a new germ few people are immune to | New or familiar germ in a favourable setting |
| Examples | 1918 influenza, 2009 H1N1 flu, COVID-19 | West Africa Ebola 2014-2016, seasonal dengue surges |
Which should you use?
Use "pandemic" when sustained person-to-person spread is happening in many parts of the world at once, as with COVID-19 after it moved from China to nearly every country in 2020.
Use "epidemic" when cases jump well above normal in a limited area, for example a monsoon-season dengue surge in an Indian city or the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa.