Disease Dilemmas: OCR A-Level Geography

When we think of disease, we tend to think of the viral kind that spreads in a population from person to person. Diseases can be infectious and communicable, contagious, non-contagious and zoonotic among others.

This module looks at a range of diseases and how they are spread globally. With modern transport systems, epidemics can spread quickly. Other diseases are a product of lifestyle. These maps show the dispersal patterns.

Diffusion is the process of disease spreading outward from its point of origin. There are four principal types of disease diffusion. These are expansion, relocation, contagious and hierarchical diffusion. These models show how they spread.

In developed countries, food is relatively cheap and easy to purchase. As a result, obesity is higher and, with it, related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. By contrast, underdeveloped countries suffer more communicable illnesses.

Organisations often work together to contain the spread of disease. Local doctors, the World Health Organization, governments, and even the public must try to cooperate to eradicate disease. The H1N1 outbreak is a good example of this.

This short quiz will refresh your learning of this course. All the answers are on these pages. Test your concentration and memory to see what you have learned about disease considered in geographical terms.