UNIT 2: How Viruses Spread

Unit Focus

How viruses can spread through a community and the factors that influence the extent of the outbreak.

Related Wise Bodies Videos

• How is HIV Transmitted?

• Map it Out: Geography of HIV/AIDS

• The Condom Conversation

Objectives

Learners will understand how our actions can impact a collective result, as well as how mathematics can be used to better understand our world.

Key Concepts

• Contagious – Transmissible by direct or indirect contact with an infected person.

• Epidemic – The rapid spread of disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time.

• Pandemic – An epidemic that is spread over multiple countries or continents.

Teacher Tip

Secrecy is key to making this activity work, so make sure you pick a trustworthy learner to be “patient zero.”

Discussion Points

The first cases of AIDS were reported in the United States in June of 1981, but today more than 1 million Americans are living with HIV and the virus has claimed more than 700,000 lives in the United States alone. How did this happen?

An epidemic is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time and it happens due to several factors. The size of the population itself, and more importantly how dense it is for a given area, determines how many opportunities the virus has to spread among it. The nature of the virus itself, such as how easily it is transmitted and how long carriers can remain contagious, plays a critical role in deciding how many human interactions result in viral transmissions. As important as the above factors are, they cannot be controlled by the individual people living in the population such as ourselves. What we can control however, is how many people we come into contact with on a daily basis. By listening to scientists and medical professionals regarding the best ways to avoid risky behavior, individuals such as you and I have the power to stop an epidemic in its tracks by avoiding activities that encourage the spread of the virus.

• What are some differences and similarities between HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 when it comes to the four factors that determine an epidemic?

• What are some other factors that can contribute to or mitigate the occurrence of epidemics?

Assessment

Learners will be assessed on how well they can keep track of their interactions with other learners and trace the source of the “infection.”