Pandemic

Commonly described by the WHO as ‘the worldwide spread of a new disease’, no strict definition is provided. In 2009, they set out the basic requirements for a pandemic:

1. New virus emerges in humans
2. Minimal or no population immunity
3. Causes serious illness; high morbidity/mortality
4. Spreads easily from person to person
5. Global outbreak of disease.

The US Centre for Disease Control uses a similar approach, but with a reduced set of criteria. It is very difficult to gauge whether the spread of a disease should be termed an outbreak, epidemic or pandemic. In other words, when to declare a pandemic isn’t a black and white decision -—
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