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Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

epidemic - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)

An epidemic is an outbreak of a disease that quickly infects a large number of people. When an epidemic spreads over a wide area, it is called a pandemic. The disease that causes an epidemic may be passed from person to person. Or it may be carried to people by something nonhuman-for example, insects or infected water.

epidemic - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

An outbreak of disease in a significant proportion of a population is called an epidemic. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "prevalent among the people." When an epidemic afflicts a high proportion of the population over a wide geographic area, it is called a pandemic-literally "all the people." Epidemics are studied in the field of medicine called epidemiology.

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