The world is gripped with the crisis made by the novel coronavirus. Each day, thousands of people are being tested positive, increasing the global tally vehemently. With no vaccination immediately available, the protocols to contain the spread seems the only way to battle the global crisis. COVID-19 is currently classified as a pandemic, which is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the global spread of a new disease. You are probably familiar with the term by now as it has been used since March. But the status of coronavirus might change again. WHO warned that eventually, the virus could become what is known as endemic and may never go away. Now, what does an endemic means? In this article, we bring you the meaning of this term that WHO hints might accompany the status of coronavirus in the coming days.

When coronavirus first emerged as a major outbreak, the virus was labelled as an ‘epidemic.’ The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defined the term as, “an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population in that area.” Before we realised, it soon became a pandemic. That is more serious. A pandemic is when a disease outbreak spreads across countries or continents. It affects more people and takes more lives than an epidemic. WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic when it became clear that the illness was severe and was spreading quickly over a wide area. Now the organisation fears that it could turn into an endemic and the world may have to learn to live with it. What Is Shortness of Breath? Here's How to Tell If It Is a COVID-19 Symptom or If Asthma and Anxiety are Causing the Chest Pain!

“We have a new virus entering the human population for the first time and therefore it is very hard to predict when we will prevail over it,” Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergencies director was quoted in AFP, while talking about the virus on a virtual press conference in Geneva. “This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away,” he added. COVID-19 Experiment Using Black Light Shows How Easily Coronavirus Can Spread in a Restaurant. 

What is An Endemic?

According to CDC, an endemic is the “the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area.” It means that if coronavirus is stuck in a particular area, it could be considered an endemic there. For instance, chickenpox is endemic in the UK, but malaria is not. Diseases that are endemic include HIV, chickenpox and malaria, in some areas of Africa. They are always present in a certain population or region but not necessarily at higher levels.

There is a chance that we do not reach that level and get rid of coronavirus. Dr Ryan in the press briefing also said that it could be possible only when the vaccine is ready, it has to be available, highly effective and made available to everyone. Scientists and doctors are working round the clock to create a vaccine for COVID-19, but it might take some more time to come up with one finally.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2020 12:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).