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Infectious Diseases as Socio-Spatial Processes: The COVID-19 Outbreak In Germany
#MMPMID32836489
Kuebart A
; Stabler M
Tijdschr Econ Soc Geogr
2020[Jul]; 111
(3
): 482-496
PMID32836489
show ga
This paper argues that outbreaks of infectious diseases should be understood as
socio-spatial processes with complex geographies. Considering the different
dimensions of space through which an outbreak unfolds, facilitates analysing
spatial diffusion of infectious disease in contemporary societies. We attempt to
highlight four relevant dimensions of space by applying the TPSN framework to the
case of the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Germany. By identifying key processes of
disease diffusion in space, we can explain the spatial patterns of the COVID-19
outbreak in Germany, which did not feature the well-known patterns of spatially
contagious as in or hierarchical diffusion. In contrast, we find superspreading
events and especially relocation diffusion based on existing networks, on which
the pathogen travelled like a blind passenger, to be more relevant. For us, these
findings prove the value of combining relational thinking with geographic
analysis for understanding epidemic outbreaks in contemporary societies.
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