Outbreak
Alternate Terms:- Epidemic
An outbreak of an illness occurs when many people in the same area are infected by an organism such as a virus or bacteria at about the same time. A community may have an outbreak of the flu or measles as that particular organism spreads through the community's water or food.
Organisms passed to people from insects or rodents also can cause outbreaks. These are rare and usually do not spread much beyond the region where the rodents or insects live.
| Author: | Jeannette Curtis |
| Medical Review: | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Last Updated: May 25, 2007 | |
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