Mapping Diseases

by William Adnams on June 12th, 2009

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As the pandemic alert for swine flu (H1N1) is raised to its highest level by the World Health Organization, mapping is playing an important role in understanding and reporting the spread of the disease and the effects of global travel. This may seem like a recent advance due to technologies such as GIS, however mapping and analyzing the spread of diseases dates back as early as the 19th century.

johnsnow2John Snow, a British physician, famously mapped clusters of cholera cases in the London epidemic of 1854. His analysis and subsequent conclusions lead him to identifying a particular water pump in Soho that was the likely source of the outbreak, and dismissing the widely accepted cause of  ‘bad air’. He persuaded the council to remove the handle of the water pump, helping to end the epidemic.

Although it’s too late to contain the spread of swine flu, government action in limiting the spread of swine flu involves giving advice on travel and on how to prevent and prepare for the disease.

Follow the spread of swine flu using on-line maps that are updated on a daily basis:

Swine flu outbreak dashboard

BBC – Swine flu: Country by country

Know of any better on-line maps showing the spread of swine flu? Leave us a comment.

From GIS, Map news

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