disease clusters
Localized health patterns
Disease clusters are unusual concentrations of illness occurring within a specific area or time period.
When cases of cancer, birth defects, or other conditions appear at higher-than-expected rates in a community, investigators look for shared environmental exposures or other explanations: The cancer cluster near the factory prompted an EPA investigation.
Many suspected clusters turn out to be statistical coincidence rather than evidence of a common cause.
- outbreakSudden eruption of trouble
- epidemicWidespread disease occurrence
- hotspotArea of notable activity
- ground zeroExplosion's central impact point
- contagionDisease spread by contact
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