1 janv. 1854 - John Snow: Cholera

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During the first half of the 1800s, cholera epidemics were frequent, and would kill thousands of people, with no knowledge of how to stop them. 26,000 people died of cholera in 1831-32; 53,000 people died in 1848-49; and 20,000 people died in 1853-54. During these outbreaks, the methods that were used to prevent and treat cholera were very similar to those used during the Great Plague in 1665. This was because the ideas of causation of disease had hardly differed, with people still believing in superstition and the miasma theory. People burned barrels of tar and vinegar, smoked tobacco, prayed to God, wore lucky charms, cleaned their houses, and burned the clothes and bedding of cholera victims.

In 1849, English physician John Snow published a book arguing that people caught cholera from dirty water rather than miasma - however, his lack of proof meant that most people did not believe him. In 1854, within 10 days 500 people around Broad Street in London had died from cholera. Snow mapped out their deaths in detail and interviewed several people, finding that almost all of the cholera victims got their water from the water pump in Broad Street. Men who went to the Broad Street brewery and did not use the pump did not catch cholera.
Snow convinced the council to remove the handle from the pump, an act that brought the cholera outbreak to an end. It was later discovered that a cesspit had been leaking into the water supply, proving that cholera was waterborne, and that clean water was important for preventing it.

Like Jenner, Snow was important for using observation and evidence to support his theory. His findings took a while to make an impact - it was not until the Germ Theory was published that his theory became widely accepted. Eventually, Snow's findings helped lead to a change in attitudes - people realised that waterborne disease like cholera needed a government response in order to clean up the streets and waterways, which contributed to the 1875 Public Health Act.

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