Managing Pandemics (SL IB Geography)

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)

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