The word endemic has its origins in Greek, coming from the voice "ἐνδημία", alluding to a "phenomenon that affects a country", composed of the suffix "en" referring to giving intensity plus the entry "dem" which is equivalent to "town". The endemic can be described as a disease that establishes itself in a territory or region in a repetitive and habitual way, thus affecting the population of said entity or geographic territory for a long period of time. It is a pathological process that damages a considerable number of individuals, staying for a long time in a geographical area and usually consists of infectious diseases or conditions.
The difference between this phenomenon and an epidemic is that the latter generally refers to the birth of an infectious disease that spreads quickly within a specific territory or population, however limited. On the other hand, this term endemic tends to be confused with the pandemic, but it differs because a pandemic can be described as a generalized epidemic, that is, it can affect more than one continent.
Examples of endemics can be the case of malaria in tropical or warm climate countries such as Africa, countries in America or Southeast Asia. In the American continent there is a particular case of endemic in Brazil, which is the yellow fever of the Amazon. It is important to mention that during the disease infestation period, it is strictly mandatory to carry out the corresponding vaccination before visiting the infected place or region.
