How do pandemics spread?
How do pandemics spread?
Have you wondered how the Coronavirus managed to spread so quickly around the world?
Thanks to international travel, people can move around the world in record time. And with people come the diseases they carry.
All it takes is one sneeze and a new virus can quickly become a pandemic.
Here’s how pandemics spread around the world.
When humans were hunter-gatherers we never stayed in one place long enough for the transmission of deadly diseases. But once people began farming and living side by side with animals, things changed.
Bacteria and viruses were able to move from animals to humans, and epidemics were born.
Epidemics are outbreaks of diseases that spread quickly and infect many people at the same time. And when an epidemic goes global, it becomes a pandemic.
The Coronavirus is just the latest example of a pandemic. Pandemics have been occurring throughout human history.
One of the most famous pandemics in history is the Black Death. Thought to originate in China in 1340, the Black Death killed over 34 million Europeans.
While this is a scary number, the most lethal pandemic in history is actually influenza, or the flu. The flu constantly circles between the Southern and Northern hemisphere with flu seasons bringing new challenges.
In most people the flu is mild, however every 50 or so years the flu virus mutates. This occurs when a strain of flu virus comes in contact with another strain of flu virus. This process is known as an antigenic shift.
The most lethal pandemic ever seen was the Great Flu Pandemic in 1918, or the Spanish Flu. This virus affected as much as 40% of the world and resulted in roughly 50 million deaths.
Fun Fact: The Spanish Flu did not originate in Spain. While other countries at the time were suppressing their news during World War One, Spain was a neutral power and was free to broadcast their news more openly. This made it seem like Spain was the hardest hit country, which gave rise to the name ‘Spanish Flu’.
It’s important we look to history to help us understand how future pandemics, as well as the current Coronavirus, may behave.
It’s clear that pandemics can start small. But their impact on the world can be as disruptive as a natural disaster or war.
Faster travel and social media also increases the likelihood of people finding out about a new disease and panicking. As people try and escape they only end up transporting the new virus around the world
Thankfully, science helps us detect pandemics before they get out of control. This helps us to take action to protect ourselves and save lives. What are you doing to protect yourself against the Coronavirus pandemic? Let us know in the comments!