Disease and Globalization

Overall, there is little doubt that globalization has been very beneficial to society. Globalization has contributed to many technological advances being made, markets becoming more efficient, and has allowed countries/regions to specialize in areas where they possess a comparative advantage. However, when it comes to the spread of disease it is quite evident that globalization has had a negative impact. Historically and presently, globalization has been a strong catalyst for the spreading of disease.

Over the course of humankind, a time period that spreads thousands of years, as the world has become increasingly global, every transmittable disease has followed in the footsteps. Trade routes carried smallpox, caravan routes spread the measles, equestrians transmitted the bubonic plague, and a single flight attendant was possibly responsible for the spread of HIV to the western world. These are just a few isolated examples.

It is typically implied that less developed nations contribute to the spread of disease more than developed nations. However, this is untrue. Europeans brought many diseases to