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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Measuring Health and Disease

Case fatality rate

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, case fatality rate means: The proportion of people diagnosed with a disease who die from it, usually within a set time, expressed as a percentage.

In Turkish: olgu ölüm hızı, vaka ölüm oranı, olgu fatalite hızı

How it is used

Shortened to CFR. It shows how deadly a disease is among known cases, so it looks high when only severe cases are tested. The infection fatality rate (IFR) includes all infections, even undiagnosed ones, and is usually lower.

Example sentences

  1. The case fatality rate in this outbreak was close to 40 percent.

  2. Early in an epidemic, the case fatality rate is often overestimated.

Common collocations

  • case fatality rate of
  • high case fatality rate
  • infection fatality rate
  • CFR
  • mortality rateThe number of deaths in a population during a period, divided by the size of that population, often given per 1,000 or 100,000 people per year.
  • caseA person in a population or study who has the disease, infection or condition being investigated, usually decided by agreed criteria.
  • attack rateThe proportion of people at risk who become ill during an outbreak or another short, defined period, usually given as a percentage.
  • underreportingThe situation when the number of cases or deaths reported to health authorities is lower than the true number, for example because people do not seek care or doctors do not notify.

More terms: Measuring Health and Disease

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.