Pandemics

Pandemics are a global outbreak of infectious disease that affects the health of large numbers of people. They can be caused by viruses, bacteria or parasites and spread quickly from person to person in many countries around the world. The term pandemic is derived from Greek words meaning “all” and “people”, as it refers to an epidemic (outbreak) affecting populations across multiple regions and continents at once.

Infectious diseases have been responsible for some of humanity’s most devastating losses throughout history; among them are well known epidemics such as smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza A H1N1 (swine flu), SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19). Most recently we have seen a surge in cases due to the novel coronavirus which has created one of the largest pandemics in recent years with more than 100 million cases globally since 2020 beginning.

It is believed that a combination of factors make certain microorganisms capable of causing pandemics including: high levels of virulence or contagiousness; rapid transmission through air travel allowing for quick spread between different geographic locations; lack immunity within affected population due to either prior contact with pathogen or its close relatives creating increased vulnerability; environmental changes making conditions conducive for its survival/transmission etc.. All these increase chances that virus will reach endemic proportions thus becoming what we call “pandemic”.

Prevention measures against future outbreaks include improving public awareness about symptoms so they may seek medical attention if needed while also practicing good hygiene like frequent hand washing along with use appropriate face masks when going out into crowded places where risk increases significantly. Vaccines play important role too preventing infection before it occurs however not all diseases currently have available vaccines yet giving even greater importance on preventive measures mentioned above until new ones become available over time . Governments should also invest resources into developing better diagnostic tools detect infections early stages helping contain further spread effectively leading fewer casualties overall during next major outbreak eventually coming our way sometime near future