Case Fatality Rate
Case Fatality Rate (pronounced: /keɪs fəˈtalɪti reɪt/) is a term used in Epidemiology to describe the proportion of deaths within a designated population of "cases" (people with a specified disease), over the course of the disease.
Etymology
The term "Case Fatality Rate" is derived from the English language. The word "case" comes from the Latin "casus", meaning "fall, chance, occasion, opportunity". "Fatality" is derived from the Latin "fatalis", meaning "of fate". The word "rate" comes from the Latin "rata", meaning "fixed, settled".
Definition
The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is a measure of the severity of a disease and is defined as the proportion of reported cases of a specified disease or condition which are fatal within a specified time period. It is often used in Epidemiology to understand the severity of an outbreak or pandemic.
Calculation
The CFR is calculated by dividing the number of deaths caused by a disease by the total number of cases of that disease, then multiplying the result by 100 to get a percentage.
Related Terms
- Mortality Rate: The number of deaths in a given area or period, or from a particular cause.
- Incidence (epidemiology): The occurrence, rate, or frequency of a disease or other health-related event or condition in a population.
- Prevalence: The proportion of a population who have (or had) a specific characteristic in a given time period.
- Epidemic: A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.
- Pandemic: An epidemic of disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents, or worldwide.
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