Biology: endemic vs epidemic vs pandemic

Self-tutoring about words that describe disease patterns: the tutor mentions three.

Endemic can be a noun or adjective. As a noun, it means a disease that is always present in one area, but confined there as well. African sleeping sickness, carried by the tsetse fly, is an example.

Epidemic: a disease, suddenly noticed, that starts spreading in a contained region.

Pandemic: a disease that spreads without geographical confinement, manifesting anywhere in the world.

Source:

cdc.gov

mansfieldt.org

Mish, Frederick C. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 2004.