What is the term for an animal disease outbreak?

The term "epizootic" specifically refers to an outbreak of disease that affects a large number of animals within a particular region or population. This concept is analogous to the term "epidemic," which describes a sudden increase in disease cases in humans, but applied in the context of animals. Understanding the distinction is important; while both terms denote widespread occurrences, "epizootic" zeroes in on animal health, making it the precise term for an outbreak affecting animals.

The other terms, while related to disease occurrences, do not accurately encapsulate the focus on animal diseases. An epidemic refers to a rise in disease cases among humans, a pandemic denotes a global spread of a disease across populations, and an outbreak can refer to any occurrence of disease but is not specific to animals. This specificity makes "epizootic" the correct answer when discussing an animal disease outbreak.