RAS question
What is a pandemic, as defined by WHO?
Correct answer: (C) Worldwide spread of a new disease affecting large populations.
A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease, affecting large populations across countries and regions.
Explanation
WHO defines a pandemic as the worldwide spread of a new disease, so option C captures the core idea: the disease is not confined to a city, region, or one country, but has crossed into global spread. The given progression is useful for RAS-style classification questions: an outbreak is localised, an epidemic is wider but still regional or country-level, and a pandemic is global. The MCQ’s examples, COVID-19 in 2020, H1N1 swine flu in 2009, and ongoing HIV/AIDS, illustrate why the scale and novelty of spread matter. WHO’s pandemic page also frames preparedness as a continuing policy concern, which is why this definition appears in current-affairs-linked Science and Technology questions.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A disease affecting only animals is classified as an epizootic, not a pandemic, because the WHO definition concerns worldwide spread of a new disease in human public-health terms.
- (B) A disease limited to one country may be an epidemic, but it has not reached the worldwide spread required for a pandemic.
- (D) A disease outbreak in one city is still localised, so it fits the outbreak stage rather than the global pandemic stage.
Concept
This tests basic epidemiological terminology within Science and Technology, especially the distinction between outbreak, epidemic, and pandemic. It recurs in RAS because health emergencies often connect static definitions with current affairs and WHO-led preparedness debates.