fh.2.4 Vector-borne and water-borne diseases
Content
- Geographic inquiry and concept(s)
- How physical and human processes lead to changes in food production and consumption, and incidence and spread of disease.
- Geographic knowledge and understanding
- Geographic factors contributing to the incidence, diffusion and impacts (demographic and socio-economic) of vector-borne and water-borne diseases
- Case study or detailed examples
- One detailed example of a vector-borne disease and one detailed example of a water-borne disease
- Aims of this lesson
- To have knowledge and understanding of the occurrence of vector and water borne diseases.
- To have knowledge and understanding of the demographic and socio-economic impacts of vector and water borne diseases.
- To create a detailed example of a water-borne disease.
- To create a detailed example of a vector-borne disease.
Base knowledge and understanding
News article
Yellow fever and dengue cases surge in South America as climate crisis fuels health issues
Disease outbreaks from South America to Europe have been worsened by rising global temperatures, experts say
The Guardian · 14 November 2025
Key terms
- Vector-borne diseases
- Vector-borne diseases are human illnesses caused by parasites, viruses and bacteria that are transmitted by vectors. Vectors are living organisms that can transmit infectious pathogens between humans, or from animals to humans. Many of these vectors are bloodsucking insects, which ingest disease-producing microorganisms during a blood meal from an infected host (human or animal) and later transmit it into a new host, after the pathogen has replicated.
- Water-borne diseases
- Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks.
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Review
- Explain one physical factor and one economic factor that influence the diffusion of a water-borne disease. [4]
- Explain two geographic factors that contribute to the incidence of a vector-borne disease. [4]
- Examine the importance of economic factors in explaining the incidence and impact of diseases in different places. [10]
- Examine the geographic factors that contribute to variations in the incidence and diffusion of one named vector-borne disease. [10]
- Examine the role of diffusion processes in explaining the spread of one named vector-borne disease and one named water-borne disease. [10]
- Examine the importance of geographic factors in explaining why water-borne diseases persist in some regions. [10]