Endemic - Definition and Overview

Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope. For instance, AIDS is said to be endemic in Africa.

It also has two specific meanings:

• In ecology, an organism being "endemic" means exclusively native to a place or biota. It is in contrast to any one of several terms meaning "not native" (e.g., adventive, exotic, alien, introduced, naturalized, non-native). See endemic (ecology).
• In epidemiology, an infection is said to be "endemic" in a population when that infection is maintained in the population without the need for external inputs. See endemic (epidemiology).