as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
system
explain what an epidemic is according to wikipedia.
user
according to wikipedia, an epidemic is the rapid spread of infectious disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time. it is an occurrence of disease that is substantially in excess of what is expected based on normal incidence rates.
assistant