John Snow was one of the first Epidemiologists, and he showed that cholera was water-borne, and debunked the (then-popular) Miasma theory. This Friday, organizations around the world will be marking his 200th birthday.
John Snow was a British physician, born on the 15th of March, 1813. Born in one of the poorest regions of York in the United Kingdom. John Snow apprenticed as a surgeon, before becoming a physician in 1850 and moving to London.
Now, before we get into the Broad Street Pump story, we have to consider the context of the time. Pre-1900′s, the predominant theory behind disease transmission was the “Miasma theory.” In short, this theory suggested that diseases were spread through “bad air.” (Wikipedia link). It was an elegant, but incorrect theory that suggested that particles from decomposed matter would become part of the air, and this “bad air” spread disease. This was before they discovered that cholera was spread through Vibrio cholerae in water, thus debunking the Miasma theory (although it remains as a spell in Final Fantasy).
As the summer of 1854 wound down, a major cholera outbreak struck Soho, a neighbourhood in London, England. From August 31st to September 3rd, 127 people died of Cholera. Within a week, 500 people had died and around one in seven people who developed cholera eventually died from it. This all occurred within 250 yards of the Cambridge Street and Broad Street intersection.
John Snow came in and started his investigation.
He examined the neighbourhood, and talked to everyone he could. He was looking for an underlying theme that linked these people together. He suspected some contamination of the water, but couldn’t find any organic matter in it, which you would expect under the Miasma theory. However, the more he looked, the more it seemed like the pump was responsible. Almost all the cases of cholera occurred close to the Broad Street Pump. There were only 10 cases that were closer to another pump. Of these, 5 preferred the water from the Broad Street Pump (and got their water from the Broad Street Pump) and 3 were children who went to school near the Broad Street Pump. The last two were unrelated, and likely just background levels of cholera in the population. This was pretty convincing, but Snow mapped it out to make sure that he was on the right track.
Snow provided more evidence for his theory that the pump was responsible for the cholera outbreak. For example, there was a brewery on Poland Street where 535 people worked, that had a pump on the premises. However, while cholera raged outside, only 5 of these people developed it. He explained this by pointing out that those who worked at the brewery were allowed to drink some of the malt liquor they made – and the foreman suspected that they didn’t drink any water at all. And even if they did, they used the pump on site.
John Snow died on the 16th of June 1858, at the age of 45. His legacy still lives on, over a 150 years later. Epidemiology-related conferences still feature the Broad Street Pump in their logos and designs
more
John Snow - The First Epidemiologist - Public Health
John Snow was a British physician, born on the 15th of March, 1813. Born in one of the poorest regions of York in the United Kingdom. John Snow apprenticed as a surgeon, before becoming a physician in 1850 and moving to London.
Now, before we get into the Broad Street Pump story, we have to consider the context of the time. Pre-1900′s, the predominant theory behind disease transmission was the “Miasma theory.” In short, this theory suggested that diseases were spread through “bad air.” (Wikipedia link). It was an elegant, but incorrect theory that suggested that particles from decomposed matter would become part of the air, and this “bad air” spread disease. This was before they discovered that cholera was spread through Vibrio cholerae in water, thus debunking the Miasma theory (although it remains as a spell in Final Fantasy).
As the summer of 1854 wound down, a major cholera outbreak struck Soho, a neighbourhood in London, England. From August 31st to September 3rd, 127 people died of Cholera. Within a week, 500 people had died and around one in seven people who developed cholera eventually died from it. This all occurred within 250 yards of the Cambridge Street and Broad Street intersection.
John Snow came in and started his investigation.
He examined the neighbourhood, and talked to everyone he could. He was looking for an underlying theme that linked these people together. He suspected some contamination of the water, but couldn’t find any organic matter in it, which you would expect under the Miasma theory. However, the more he looked, the more it seemed like the pump was responsible. Almost all the cases of cholera occurred close to the Broad Street Pump. There were only 10 cases that were closer to another pump. Of these, 5 preferred the water from the Broad Street Pump (and got their water from the Broad Street Pump) and 3 were children who went to school near the Broad Street Pump. The last two were unrelated, and likely just background levels of cholera in the population. This was pretty convincing, but Snow mapped it out to make sure that he was on the right track.
Snow provided more evidence for his theory that the pump was responsible for the cholera outbreak. For example, there was a brewery on Poland Street where 535 people worked, that had a pump on the premises. However, while cholera raged outside, only 5 of these people developed it. He explained this by pointing out that those who worked at the brewery were allowed to drink some of the malt liquor they made – and the foreman suspected that they didn’t drink any water at all. And even if they did, they used the pump on site.
John Snow died on the 16th of June 1858, at the age of 45. His legacy still lives on, over a 150 years later. Epidemiology-related conferences still feature the Broad Street Pump in their logos and designs
more
John Snow - The First Epidemiologist - Public Health