Who ‘cured’ cholera?

1. Who ‘cured’ cholera?

2. Objectives In this activity you will: • Try to decide who played the biggest part in the fight against cholera.

3. Poor conditions in the growing towns allowed disease to spread, but the biggest killer was cholera.

4. Cholera arrived from Russia in 1831. The first victim died in Sunderland. By the end of the 1832 over 32,000 people had died. The disease was particularly horrifying because it spread so quickly. In 1848 a second cholera epidemic killed over 50,000 people. In 1852-53 a third cholera epidemic killed over 10,000 people in London alone.

5. The government response was to allow towns to set up Boards of Health if they wanted to. The belief was that cholera was caused by bad air so these Boards cleaned the streets and lime washed houses. Some also improved sewage and water supply. The government? Governments did not like to spend money – only the rich voted – and did not think it was their job to prevent disease or look after people.

6. As a result of the report, some sewers were built, but they were not very good. They leaked. In 1848 cholera ‘followed’ the sewers, by leaking into the porous clay underground water pipes. Also, Chadwick, a civil servant, was not very popular, because of his work on the Poor Law and Workhouses, so people were reluctant to act on his advice. Edwin Chadwick? In 1842 he produced a shocking report on conditions in towns.

7. Snow was able to link cholera deaths in one part of London with one specific water pump, that was contaminated by toilet waste and sewage. Gradually people began to link cholera with dirty water. John Snow? In 1852-53 in London Snow was able to make the link between cholera and water supply.

8. I found that nearly all the deaths had taken place within a short distance of the [Broad Street] pump. There were only ten deaths in houses situated decidedly nearer to another street-pump. In five of these cases the families of the deceased persons informed me that they always sent to the pump in Broad Street, as they preferred the water to that of the pumps which were nearer. In three other cases, the deceased were children who went to school near the pump in Broad Street... With regard to the deaths occurring in the locality belonging to the pump, there were 61 instances in which I was informed that the deceased persons used to drink the pump water from Broad Street, either constantly or occasionally… John Snow? Extract from Snow’s letter to the Medical Times

9. The government? A Public Health Act making it the law for Local Authorities to provide clean water was passed in 1875. Finally, the Government is prepared to force Local Authorities to take action

10. How difficult do you think it would be to provide clean water in a place like this?

11. Plot on the graph the part played, in your opinion, in defeating cholera by each of the people you have discussed. Most important Least important

12. Now construct your own interpretation of the fight against cholera In my view….. ___________________ played the biggest part in defeating cholera, because_____________________________________