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8.5: Geography of Disease

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    212713
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    Geography of Disease

    Cool Map:

    Health Map

    An interactive mapping program from the Boston’s Children Hospital that shows local outbreaks of infectious diseases.

    Pertussis is an example of an infectious disease because it is transmitted from person to person. Some infectious diseases also are transferred from animals to people. Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, figure prominently among the leading causes of death in developing countries. In the United States, Europe, and other developed regions, people are more likely to die from non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Most non-communicable illnesses are also considered chronic diseases because they affect people over a longer period, and generally affect older adults. Infectious diseases, on the other hand, may affect anyone but are more likely to kill people who are poor, already unhealthy and/or children. In order to demonstrate how geography aids our understanding of health and disease, several short vignettes about specific diseases follow in the paragraphs below.


    8.5: Geography of Disease is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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