Sporadic disease

In infectious disease epidemiology, a sporadic disease is an infectious disease which occurs only infrequently, haphazardly, irregularly, or occasionally, from time to time in a few isolated places, with no discernible temporal or spatial pattern, as opposed to a recognizable epidemic outbreak or endemic pattern.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] The cases are so few (single or in a cluster) and separated so widely in time and place that there exists little or no discernable connection within them. They also do not show a recognizable common source of infection.^{[note 1]}

In the discussion of non-infectious diseases, a sporadic disease is a non-communicable disease (such as cancer) which occurs in people without any family history of that disease or without any inherited genetic predisposition for the disease (change in DNA which increases the risk of having that disease).^[5] Sporadic non-infectious diseases arise not due to any identifiable inherited gene, but because of randomly induced genetic mutations under the influence of environmental factors or of some unknown etiology. Sporadic non-infectious diseases typically occur late in life (late-onset), but early-onset sporadic non-infectious diseases also exist.

^ Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health (7th ed.), Saunders, 2003
^ Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice (3rd ed.), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2006, p. 72
^ Miquel Porta; John M. Last, eds. (2018), A Dictionary of Public Health (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press
^ Miquel Porta, ed. (2016), A Dictionary of Epidemiology (6th ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 46–47
^ "Definition of sporadic cancer". cancer.gov. National Cancer Institute. Retrieved 25 March 2024.

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[1] Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health (7th ed.), Saunders, 2003

[2] Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice (3rd ed.), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2006, p. 72

[3] Miquel Porta; John M. Last, eds. (2018), A Dictionary of Public Health (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press

[4] Miquel Porta, ed. (2016), A Dictionary of Epidemiology (6th ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 46–47

[6] "Definition of sporadic cancer". cancer.gov. National Cancer Institute. Retrieved 25 March 2024.

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