A sudden increase in the number of individuals who contract a specific infectious disease in a population, putting others at risk
Sudden appearance of a disease in a specific geographic area (e g neighborhood or community) or population (e g adolescents)
n Sudden or violent increase in activity or incidence of a disease In terms of genital herpes, an outbreak means that the herpes simplex virus is active When active, the virus usually causes visible sores in the genital area, which can cast off or shed viruses that can infect another person However, sometimes a person can have an outbreak and have no visible sores
Synonymous with epidemic Sometimes the preferred word, as it may escape sensationalism associated with the word epidemic Alternatively, a localized as opposed to generalized epidemic
If there is an outbreak of something unpleasant, such as violence or a disease, it suddenly starts to happen. the outbreak of war in the Middle East In Peru, a cholera outbreak continues to spread. if there is an outbreak of fighting or disease in an area, it suddenly starts to happen
a sudden violent spontaneous occurrence (usually of some undesirable condition); "the outbreak of hostilities
When the population of the gypsy moth caterpillars ranges between 620,000 and 6,200,000 per acre when at 4th instar larvae and is causing widespread, severe defoliation