Pandemic Facts & Worksheets

A pandemic is an outbreak of an infectious illness that has spread over a large area, such as several continents or possibly throughout the entire world. It affects a significant proportion of the population of the world. It can spread rapidly, even in a short number of days.

See the fact file below for more information on Pandemics, or you can download our 29-page Pandemic worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ETYMOLOGY

• The word “Pandemic” comes from the Greek word pandemos. The Greek word pan means “all” in English, which could also pertain to “whole, every, and all-inclusive,” while the word demos means “people” or “local crowd.” Therefore, the pandemic in Greek means “pertaining to all people; common or public.” 
• It also came from the Late Latin word pandemus in 1660’s, meaning “incident to a whole people or region”. In 1853, “a pandemic disease” was recorded as a noun. Pandemic is different from the word “Epidemic”.

BRIEF BACKGROUND

• A pandemic is an infection that spreads over national borders and typically affects individuals on a global scale.  It can quickly spread among people living in different parts of the world. 
• Several factors contribute to the spread of the disease. Some of these factors are the transfer of disease from one person to another, the causing agent of an illness’ increasing level of infectiousness, and the mobility of the disease, such as air travel.
• A condition or disease cannot be considered a pandemic just because it causes a lot of deaths or just because it is common. The disease must be contagious to be regarded as a pandemic disease. For example, cancer is known to be shared among people, and it causes a lot of death. However, it is not regarded as a pandemic because it does not spread through contact. A pandemic disease is an easily infectious disease that contributes to the fast spread.

ASSESSMENT

• The World Health Organization (WHO) released a six-stage classification consisting of 6 phases. The classification describes the movement of the virus from the first spread of infection to humans to developing into a pandemic disease. The following phases are:
• Phase 1. The lowest level of the pandemic classification and alert. A newly emerged, or possibly an existing, influenza is spreading among animals. There is yet an uncertain probability whether it would be a pandemic disease as it is only an animal-to-animal infection and still a low risk of human infection.
• Phase 2. The second lowest level of the pandemic classification and alert. There is yet an uncertain probability whether it would be a pandemic disease; however, isolated cases in humans are recorded. The potential of pandemic disease is observed. There are no persistent, localized outbreaks.
• Phase 3. There is yet an uncertain probability whether it would be a pandemic disease. However, there are minor disease outbreaks. These outbreaks are typically the consequence of numerous animal-to-human transmission cases. However, there may be some limited human-to-human transmission potential.
• Phase 4. Medium to a high probability of pandemic outbreak. Viral transmission from proven human-to-human contact results in chronic illness in human groups. Although it is thought that the virus cannot currently be contained, a pandemic is not inevitable. In the affected regions of the world, emphasis is placed on applying control strategies to stop the future viral spread.
• Phase 5. High probability of a pandemic outbreak. It is marked by human-to-human disease transmission in two countries. It indicates immediate action to control the virus. It shows that a pandemic is imminent and that distribution of stockpiled drugs and the execution strategies to prevent the disease must be carried out with a sense of urgency.
• Phase 6. The pandemic is now in progress. It is characterized by continuous and extensive transmission of disease among humans.

PREPARATION AND MANAGEMENT

• There are two fundamental approaches to outbreak control, Containment and Mitigation. During the early phase of an outbreak, containment measures can be taken. These include isolating infected people to prevent further spreading of the disease, contact tracing, and vaccines, if available.
• If containment of the virus is no longer possible, the outbreak management will proceed to the mitigation stage. These are steps taken to slow the development of the disease and reduce its consequences on society. In practice, mitigation and containment may be applied simultaneously.
• During an outbreak, a key component is attempting to “flatten the curve”. This pertains to lessening the peak of the pandemic. This includes non-pharmaceutical inventions such as social distancing, wearing face masks, etc. 
• Another strategy is suppression, bringing the fundamental reproduction number down to less than 1 with the help of wide-range management. Some actions could be home isolation, community quarantine or lockdown, and population-wide social distancing.
• The list of possible actions a person can do: wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, keep at least six feet between you and anyone who isn’t a member of your home, wear a mask over your mouth and nose when out in public, highly touched items and surfaces should be cleaned and sanitized, and as much as possible, stay at home to stop the spread of illness.

NOTABLE OUTBREAKS 

• The Black Death. It is also known as the “Great Mortality” or “Pestilence.” Between 1346 and 1353, the Bubonic Plague outbreak happened on three continents – Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is estimated to have killed between 75 and 200 million people—the Plague is believed to have originated in Asia. 
• The Black Death is believed to be most likely spread throughout continents because of the fleas that lived on the rats that were so common in trade ships, which were metropolitan hubs during that time.
• Asian Flu. An “influenza A” pandemic outbreak of the H2N2 subtype known as the “Asian Flu” started in China in 1956 and continued until 1958.
• The Asian Flu spread for two years from the Chinese province of Guizhou to Singapore, Hong Kong, and the US. 
• The total death toll from the Asian Flu has been estimated to be around 2 million, with 69,800 of those deaths occurring in the US alone, according to the World Health Organization.
• HIV/AIDS. In 1967, HIV/AIDS was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, it has killed more than 36 million people. Currently, about 31 million to 35 million people are living with HIV disease. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected by this disease, where 5% of its population, or 21 million people, are infected with HIV/AIDS. This disease is believed to have been at its peak around 2005-2012.
• COVID-19. A novel coronavirus started appearing in December 2019 in the Wuhan region of China. It has been given the name Covid-19, an abbreviation for “coronavirus disease of 2019”.
• Although the virus was once thought to be an epidemic in China, it quickly spread to every country. This is because the virus can quickly be passed from one person to another due to its airborne nature. By the end of March, WHO had designated Covid-19 a pandemic. It infected more than 500,000 individuals worldwide and caused about 300,000 fatalities.

PANDEMIC, EPIDEMIC, ENDEMIC

• The terms pandemic, epidemic, and endemic are often confusing. However, these three terms differ from one another based on the reach of the spread of a virus.
• An Endemic is something that is found in a particular people or country. It is in constant presence in a specific location. An example of this is Malaria, which is endemic to parts of Africa.
• In contrast, an epidemic is an illness that heavily impacts a community, population, or geographic area. It is a disease actively spreading and could develop into a Pandemic. Examples of this are Polio and Yellow Fever. 
• Lastly, a pandemic is an epidemic spread across several continents or nations. It is a global health risk. A famous example of this is the ongoing pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Pandemic Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Pandemics across 29 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Pandemics, which is an outbreak of an infectious illness that has spread over a large area, such as several continents or possibly throughout the entire world.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Pandemic Facts 
2. Profiling
3. Keep me Safe!
4. Differentiate Me!
5. Keep me Updated! 
6. Glimpse of Future
7. Story in a Picture
8. Discover More! 
9. Pandemic Under Control 
10. Mission Possible
11. Timeline of Outbreaks

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