Pandemic and Epidemic

This week received the same question from two VOA fans. Here is the first question.

Tuần này nhận được câu hỏi tương tự từ hai người hâm mộ VOA. Đây là câu hỏi đầu tiên.

Question:

"What is the difference between "pandemic" and "epidemic?" They appear a lot in recent VOA news. Thanks a lot!" - Tina, China.

A day later, we got this email: "In recent discussion of the outbreak and spread of coronavirus, we got a little bit confused by two similar words: "pandemic" & "epidemic". Could you please explain their difference and usage? Thank you so much for your kind help in advance." - Chris, China.

Dear Tina and Chris,

Thank you for writing to us. That is true, we are seeing and hearing these words very often in the news. When the coronavirus crisis began, it was called an "epidemic" or an "outbreak." After it spread across the whole world, the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to call it a "pandemic" on March 11.

Epidemic

Here are some examples from news stories about "epidemics:"

Italy's coronavirus epidemic began in January.

The cholera pandemic began in India, and spread across the globe through trade routes.

One summer, refugees leaving a yellow fever epidemic in the Caribbean Islands sailed into Philadelphia.

I like to look at the origins of words when I am trying to understand them better so I can explain them to you. I found that both of these words were adjectives in English before we started using them as nouns. That is why they end in -ic, like the word "tragic." The same thing is true of the words "comic" and "academic" – they are used as both nouns and adjectives. Here is a sentence where "epidemic" is used as an adjective:

The Centers for Disease Control confirmed that the flu has now reached epidemic proportions across the U.S.

When we use it as an adjective, "epidemic" is often followed by the word "proportions." Together, this means the size of the group of people affected is very large.

These days, you might hear people use "epidemic" to talk about a non-medical problem, such as:

There was an epidemic of crime in the city.

Health officials warn about the epidemic use of flavored tobacco.

Pandemic

Merriam Webster Dictionary tells us that our word "pandemic" comes from two Greek word parts: pan- for "all" or "every" and demos for "people." Medical writers use this word to talk about an illness that affects almost everyone in a country or that crosses borders to affect people in many countries.

On March 11, 2020, WHO’s director-general said, “Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly.” He was reminding people that the word is used only for the most extreme and dangerous situations.

Đại dịch Từ điển Merriam Webster cho chúng ta biết rằng từ "đại dịch" của chúng ta xuất phát từ hai phần từ tiếng Hy Lạp: pan- cho "tất cả" hoặc "mọi" và bản demo cho "người". Các nhà văn y tế sử dụng từ này để nói về một căn bệnh ảnh hưởng đến hầu hết mọi người trong một quốc gia hoặc vượt qua biên giới để ảnh hưởng đến mọi người ở nhiều quốc gia. Vào ngày 11 tháng 3 năm 2020, tổng giám đốc của WHO, cho biết, Pand Pandested không phải là một từ để sử dụng một cách nhẹ nhàng hay bất cẩn. Ông đã nhắc nhở mọi người rằng từ này chỉ được sử dụng cho những tình huống cực kỳ nguy hiểm và nguy hiểm nhất.

Using the two words

To use these terms, the main thing you should remember is that a pandemic is much worse than an epidemic. A pandemic is a type of epidemic, but you cannot say that an epidemic is a type of pandemic.

And people rarely use "pandemic" to talk about a non-medical problem, as we mentioned earlier with "epidemic."

Here are a couple of sentences for you to listen to with "epidemic" or pandemic." Fill in the blank.

With fewer people in the streets because of the _________, more wild animals are walking in cities around the world.

Với số lượng người ít hơn trên đường phố vì _________, nhiều động vật hoang dã đang đi bộ trong các thành phố trên khắp thế giới.

If you answered "pandemic," you are right because the word describes the worldwide spread of disease which has affected people and animals.

Now try completing this news headline:

The ______ of Kindness: Free Toilet Paper, Car Washes and More

You’re right if you guessed "epidemic," because it is used to describe something that affects a lot of people but is not necessarily a disease. In fact, it’s something good. Many groups are talking about this as they find ways to help each other during this pandemic.

Send us your question by email at [email protected].

And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.

I’m Jill Robbins.

Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

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Words in This Story

outbreak – n. a sudden start or increase of fighting or disease

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