Good news at last ? According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), thanks to the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, Covid-19 will soon become an endemic disease.
“With the increase in immunity in the population – and with Omicron there will be a lot of natural immunity in addition to vaccination – we will move quickly towards a scenario that will be closer to endemicity.” developed Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy at the EMA, this Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
What exactly is an endemic disease? In medical language (and, more specifically, in epidemiological language), a endemic disease corresponds to a pathology whose presence is usual in a territory and/or in a population group. The word “endemic” comes from the Greek “endemiawhich means “stay”.
Some examples. In several countries on the African continent, malaria is endemic; hepatitis A is endemic in Thailand; in the Caribbean, dengue fever is said to be “hyper-endemic”… We can see that an endemic disease is not necessarily “less serious”. However, an endemic disease has a predictable incidence rate and course.
Endemic diseases are “normal” in a territory
The endemic is opposed to the epidemic: indeed, a epidemic disease is characterized by a sudden and excessive increase in the number of cases in a territory and/or in a population group.
Warning : certain diseases are said to be “endemo-epidemic”. This is the case of the seasonal flu whose presence in France is usual (it comes back every year, it is not a surprise) but it evolves by “peaks” with an incidence which increases suddenly.
The evolution of Covid-19 towards endemicity is therefore good news: infection by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus could become as commonplace as the common cold or gastroenteritis, in particular thanks to the Omicron variant which (because highly contagious) promotes the natural immunity of the population. Without forgetting the importance of vaccination, which considerably reduces the risk of developing a serious form of Covid-19. Conclusion of the European health authorities? “Nobody knows exactly when we will be at the end of the tunnel, but we will get there.“
Sources:
Read also :
- Covid-19 or flu, how to tell the difference?
- Cold or Covid-19, how to tell the difference?
- Covid-19: the new isolation rules if you are in contact or positive
