Epidemiological transition 1

Epidemiological transition
In demography and medical geography,
epidemiological transition is a human
phase of development witnessed by a
sudden and stark increase in population
growth rates brought about by medical
innovation in disease or sickness therapy
and treatment, followed by a re-leveling of
population growth from subsequent declines
in procreation rates. A nation undergoing
the first phase of the transition discovers,
and widely dispenses, new vaccines and
effective treatments of infectious diseases,
leading to dramatic declines in death rates
and in infant mortality rates, and to
subsequent surges in population. The second
phase of transition involves a subsequent
drop in birth rates, hence a return to low or Diagram showing sharp birth rate and death rate decreases between Time 1 and
Time 4, the congruent increase in population caused by delayed birth rate
no overall population growth. This theory
decreases, and the subsequent re-leveling of population growth by Time 5.
was originally posited by Abdel R Omran in
1971.[1]

This transition occurs as a country undergoes the process of modernization, or transition, from third to first world
status. Less economically developed countries and/or peoples tend to witness higher rates of infectious diseases, as
their standards of medical care and access to treatment are lower than those found in more economically developed
countries, yet their birth rates are also relatively high, leading to a gradually increasing population.
In general human history, there are two epidemiological transition patterns. The first transition occurs when human
population and growth numbers depart from their usual cyclic, low-growth, and mostly linear, up-and-down patterns
associated with wars, famine, epidemic outbreaks, as well as small golden ages, and localized periods of
"prosperity". The advancements in antibiotic research in the mid twentieth century, most notably in the discovery of
penicillin, led to widespread and dramatic declines in death rates from infectious diseases, and to a transition to
widespread chronic acquired degenerative diseases as a primary cause of late-age death, in the developed and
economically advantaged world. Ergo, population growths surged in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, to 1.8% per year
and higher, with the world gaining 2 billion people between 1950 and the 1980's alone.
The second transition occurs when human birth rates drastically decline, as the inherent need for manual physical
labor drops, from highly positive replacement numbers to stable, (and in several modern European cases negative)
replacement numbers. This transition is more complicated, and entails the sociological adaptations associated with
demographic movements to urban areas, and a shift from agriculture and labor based production output to
technological and service-sector-based economies. Today, drastic declines in infant mortality rates, and death rates
during youth, coupled with sexual education and birth control practices, have reduced population growth in many
developed, and even some developing, nations.
These transitions describe more general application of theory to the history of development and can apply to
currently developing nations as well. However, each nation and grouping of peoples is unique in its development
phases based on a myriad of factors and no group necessarily goes through these precise phases, as assimilation and
historical context must be considered and factored in to developmental study.
Epidemiological transition 2

See also
• Demographic Transition
• Nutrition Transition

References
[1] Omran, A.R. (1971) 'The epidemiological transition: A theory of the epidemiology of population change', Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly
49:509–538
Article Sources and Contributors 3

Article Sources and Contributors

Epidemiological transition  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=336532640  Contributors: Edcolins, Francium12, JoannaAdcock, Kingturtle, Krb06d, Msavidge, 18 anonymous
edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

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