McDougal Littell - Biology

Pandemics and Disease Ecology

A pandemic is an epidemic on a grand scale that quickly affects a broad population – potentially a whole continent or the entire planet. Disease ecology studies the factors that affect the rate of disease increase. A good example is the avian flu. News stories about the avian flu’s potential to have a catastrophic impact on our planet have been commonplace. The combination of breakthroughs in mathematical/computer modeling, a better understanding disease outbreak and transmission patterns, and advances in genomic analysis have enabled us to respond to (and hopefully in the future to better predict) major pandemics, like the avian flu.