Infectious Disease Causes & Solutions: Bacteria vs. Viruses
John Snow is considered to be one of the founders of Epidemiology, through his work with a cholera outbreak in London.
From the CDC:
Cholera is a terrible disease. People who have been infected with cholera have diarrhea so badly that they get dehydrated. Within a short time—two or three days—nearly half the patients will die.
On the night of the 31st of August, 1854, cholera broke out in the Soho section of London. It was, according to a local doctor, “the most terrible outbreak of cholera which ever occurred in the kingdom.” In a single night, doctors reported 56 new cases of cholera—all within a few blocks of each other. Before the outbreak was over, nearly 500 people had lost their lives.
At the time, most people—even the best scientists—thought that cholera was spread through the air.
But one local doctor did not agree: John Snow. He hypothesized that the disease was transmitted by an organism in the water, an organism that they could not see. He made a map of the deaths, and used this map to illustrate his findings in support of his hypothesis (Brody, 2000).
His Map of the 1854 outbreak
"Write-around notes" on handout, John Snow's Methods: In the margins, write notes to yourself from any of these prompts:
BBC account
From the CDC:
Cholera is a terrible disease. People who have been infected with cholera have diarrhea so badly that they get dehydrated. Within a short time—two or three days—nearly half the patients will die.
On the night of the 31st of August, 1854, cholera broke out in the Soho section of London. It was, according to a local doctor, “the most terrible outbreak of cholera which ever occurred in the kingdom.” In a single night, doctors reported 56 new cases of cholera—all within a few blocks of each other. Before the outbreak was over, nearly 500 people had lost their lives.
At the time, most people—even the best scientists—thought that cholera was spread through the air.
But one local doctor did not agree: John Snow. He hypothesized that the disease was transmitted by an organism in the water, an organism that they could not see. He made a map of the deaths, and used this map to illustrate his findings in support of his hypothesis (Brody, 2000).
His Map of the 1854 outbreak
"Write-around notes" on handout, John Snow's Methods: In the margins, write notes to yourself from any of these prompts:
- Journalistic Questions (who, what, when, where, why)
- Identify and write related words or definitions for Vocabulary
- Describe any visuals (in this case, describe the map)
- Personal opinions, ideas, connections, questions to the author
BBC account
>>> Activity: "Growing Up Healthy" (from Rx for Survival)