Medical Anthropologists Examine Epidemic Outbreaks

Medical anthropologists examine epidemic outbreaks through numerous approaches. According to Joralemon, “Epidemics offer particularly vivid demonstrations of the interconnections between biological, social, and cultural components in the human experience of disease” (2010:29). Many times these approaches cannot function on their own accord and rely on each other to solve the epidemic. It is the job of the medical anthropologist to put all the pieces of the disease puzzle together.
When examining diseases and how they affect a community, it is important for medical anthropologists to use a biological or epidemiological approach to gather information about the disease or pathogen behind the epidemic. An epidemiological approach “views disease in ecological term(s) as the interaction between a pathogen(s) and its host(s), as this interaction is shaped by the conditions of a specific environment(s)” (Joralemon 2010:33). In using this approach, information gathered about the genetics of the disease help determine how it spreads, what the rate of transmission is, the ways it affects the body as well as ways to prevent the spread and heal an infected person. This approach gathers very practical and scientific information that needs to be deciphered in terms of the community. When looking at the cholera epidemics in South America in the early 1990s, it was important for world leaders to know how the disease was spreading, how fast it was spreading and how it affected the body. The strengths to using the biological/epidemiological approach are that the government is able to pinpoint sources of contamination and identify disease pathogens. However, a limitation to this approach is that it does not take into consideration the cultural, ec...

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...ent of the community. It described how cholera is spread, why it spreads as well as simple, easy solutions that community members can do to protect themselves against the pathogens. It made it easy to understand and provided cultural, biological and economic examples to follow in daily life in the community. However, this short film will only be successful in its purpose if it can be shown to those who most need the information/education it provides. Many of those most affected by diseases such as cholera do not have access to modern technology like YouTube or public health websites that provide how-to guides for epidemic areas. Another role of the medical anthropologist, in my mind, is to help bridge the gap between those who have access to these resources and those who do not and to brainstorm creative, new ways for people to access vital community information.