What is "enzootic"

Enzootic \En`zo*["o]t"ic\ ([e^]n`z[-o]*[o^]t"[i^]k), a. [Gr. 'en in + zw^,on an animal: cf. F. enzo["o]tique.] Afflicting animals; -- used of a disease affecting the animals of a district. It corresponds to an endemic disease among men.

a. 1 Like or having to do with an enzootic 2 Of a disease, prevalent in a given population or area n. (context epidemiology English) a disease which is consistently prevalent in a population of non-human animals in a limited region, season or climate.

a. (archaic form of enzootic English)

adj. of a disease that is constantly present in an animal community but only occurs in a small number of cases

Enzootic is the non-human equivalent of endemic and means, in a broad sense, "belonging to" or "native to", "characteristic of", or "prevalent in" a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; native to an area or scope.

It also has two specific meanings:

• an organism being "enzootic" means native to a place or a specific fauna
• in epizoology, an infection is said to be "enzootic" in a population when the infection is maintained in the population without the need for external inputs (cf Endemic).