Managing Pandemics (DP IB Geography)

Revision Note

What is a Pandemic?

Pandemics

  • A pandemic occurs when a disease affects one country, multiple countries or the whole world

  • The World Health Organisation will state whether a pandemic has begun 

  • Famous pandemics include:

    • The Black Death in the 14th century 

    • Spanish Influenza in 1918

    • Swine Flu in 2009

    • Covid-19 in 2020

Epidemiology of Disease

  • The Epidemiology of Disease is the understanding of:

    • When a disease started

    • Where it has started

    • How it started

    • Factors contributing to the spread 

  • It also supports work to prevent and treat diseases

  • It is a vital study that underpins the management of pandemics 

  • The famous physician John Snow, named the ‘Father of Epidemiology’, was one of the first to use epidemiological thinking to assess disease outbreak

    • In London in 1854, a severe outbreak of cholera hit the city

    • Most physicians at the time assumed it to be an airborne disease

    • Using epidemiology, John Snow worked out how the disease began 

    • The disease originated from a water pump 

  • We can think about disease spread using the Epidemiological Triangle

    • There are 3 factors to consider:

      • Host - characteristics of a person e.g. age, race, occupation, social status etc

      • Agent - the cause (biological, chemical, physical or nutritional)

      • Environment - what could impact the agent (temperature, food or water, pollution, housing status)

Diagram illustrating disease transmission: Host in red represents the organism carrying the disease, Agent in green describes outside factors, and Environment in yellow depicts cause.
The Epidemiological Triangle

Prior Local & Global Awareness

  • Local and global awareness of pandemics is important in pandemic management

  • If a disease is already well known to local and global communities, people are more aware of the issues

    • This means that the disease is easier to manage and reduces the impacts

    • Novel diseases are harder to manage as people are not aware of the risks and prevention strategies 

  • A good example is COVID-19:

    • The UK government adopted a fierce hand-washing strategy

    • Covid-19 is an airborne disease, therefore evidence now suggests that the focus should have been on controlling this

    • Masks and lockdowns were brought in later, resulting in huge infection levels and death toll 

  • Prior local and global awareness can help us prepare for future diseases

    • Knowledge about diseases is vital:

      • Where diseases originate 

      • How diseases spread

      • How to minimise impacts

International Action

  • International action involves international governments and organisations working together to combat a pandemic 

  • International action is a powerful tactic in reducing disease spread and impact:

    • Global vaccination rollouts 

    • Consistent testing, tracing and treatment

    • Announcements of Public Health Emergency 

    • International border closures 

    • Relief efforts e.g. doctors, aid workers etc

    • International funding and collaboration for pandemic containment 

Role of the Media

  • The media can play both a vital and destructive role in pandemic management

  • Mainstream media, the news and social media can impact the portrayal of a pandemic

    • When the media informs the public about a pandemic, they may do so from a specific angle

    • This may result in empathetic reactions from the public, resulting in more awareness and knowledge about the issue 

  • When based on science, it is a good source of information for the general public

  • Informs the public about rules e.g. lockdowns or vaccine availability

  • Poor media coverage can result in stigmas towards the disease e.g. HIV was initially labelled as a ‘gay disease’

  • Western media may only begin to report on a disease outbreak in places like Africa when Westerners come home with the disease

  • Media portrayal of pandemics can result in scaremongering

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