COVID-19 and varied government responses, popular responses and narratives, and cultural, socio-economic, and political impacts, have provided a stark reminder of how diseases help to make history, but also how they help to bring various social relations and realities into the spotlight. This session will elicit debates that looks at both of these aspects – namely, on the impacts of, and insights provided by, disease – in the context of COVID-19 or earlier epidemics, pandemics and epizootics in the region.

1. IRL 4811-A:
CRITICAL ISSUES IN AFRICA
Epidemics, pandemics
and epizootics

2. Overview of the Session
COVID-19 and varied government responses, popular
responses and narratives, and cultural, socio-economic,
and political impacts, have provided a stark reminder of
how diseases help to make history, but also how they
help to bring various social relations and realities into
the spotlight.
This session will elicit debates that looks at both of
these aspects – namely, on the impacts of, and insights
provided by, disease – in the context of COVID-19 or
earlier epidemics, pandemics and epizootics in the
region.

3. Meaning
The terms endemic, outbreak, epidemic and pandemic relate to
the occurrence of a health condition compared to its predicted
rate as well as to its spread in geographic areas (Grennan, 2019).
An endemic condition occurs at a predictable rate among a
population.
An outbreak corresponds to an unpredicted increase in the
number of people presenting a health condition or in the
occurrence of cases in a new area.
An epidemic is an outbreak that spreads to larger geographic
areas.
A pandemic is an epidemic that spreads globally.

4. Introduction
 In this session, we review major pandemics that have afflicted
humankind throughout history such as plague, cholera, influenza and
coronavirus diseases, the way they were controlled in the past and
how these diseases are managed today.
 Infectious diseases still represent threats for human health as
pathogens can spread rapidly through global trade and travels.
 Global surveillance programs are thus needed to detect and identify
pathogens spillover from animals to humans as well as to control
water-borne pathogens and vector-borne diseases.
 Furthermore, effective non-pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical
measures for the prevention and control of these infections are
required to limit their dissemination in the human population.

5. Timeline of the pandemics
5

6. General Causes
The shift from hunter-gatherers to agrarian
societies has favored the spread of
infectious diseases in the human population
(Dobson and Carper, 1996).
Expanded trades between communities
have increased interactions between humans
and animals and facilitated the transmission
of zoonotic pathogens.

7. General Causes cont.
• Expanded cities, extended trade
territories, increased travels as well as
effects on ecosystems due to increased
human population raised the emergence
and spread of infectious diseases leading
to higher risks for outbreaks, epidemics
and even pandemics (Lindahl and Grace,
2015).

8. General Causes cont.
The zoonotic transmission of pathogens from
animals to humans is a pivotal mechanism by which
emerging infections have afflicted humans
throughout history (Wolfe et al., 2007).
The probability of cross-species transmission of
pathogens was dramatically enhanced with increased
interactions with animals through hunting, animal
farming, trade of animal-based foods, wet markets
or exotic pet trade (Bengis et al., 2004)..

9. Economic impact
of epidemics and pandemics
While the first and most crucial aspect of an epidemic is, and
will always remain, the loss of human life, the spread of a virus
can also have important repercussions for national or regional
economies.
The evidence reported in various studies indicates that epidemic
disease impacts on a country's economy through several
channels, including the health, transportation, agricultural and
tourism sectors.
At the same time, trade with other countries may also be
impacted, while the interconnectedness of modern economies
means that an epidemic can also implicate international supply
chains

10. Social impact
of epidemics and pandemics

11. Political impact
of epidemics and pandemics

12. Response to the Impacts
The release of these biological
weapons is intended to induce
diseases in humans or even death.
Therefore, governments should
establish biowarfare, bioterrorism and
biocrime preparedness plans to
protect the population.

13. THANK YOU