EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHOLERA JOHN SNOW HEALTH ESSAY

2182 WORDS

It has been over a century and a half when John Snow undertook the study of the Cholera epidemic of 1854 in London. His work, which was published in the 1855 book On the Mode of Communication of Cholera, is considered a milestone in epidemiology. The observations by Snow of the water-born transmission of cholera and the handle of the Broad Street pump was a work of genius that continues to inspire epidemiologists. Appearing before the local body of government on September 7, 1854, John Snow argued that the source of the outbreak of a cholera epidemic was water from a communal water pump. His investigation identified the pump at Broad Street near its intersection with Cambridge Street as the source of contaminated water. Cholera which is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, causes significant morbidity and mortality in many developing countries. This paper examines the cholera epidemics (and pandemics) in recent history including the outbreak of 1854 in London and the role played by John Snow which had laid the foundations for the modern principles of epidemiology.

Introduction

It has been over a century and a half when John Snow undertook the study of the Cholera epidemic of 1854 in London. His work, which was published in the 1855 book On the Mode of Communication of Cholera, is considered a milestone in epidemiology. The observations by Snow of the water-born transmission of cholera and the handle of the Broad Street pump was a work of genius that continues to inspire epidemiologists. Appearing before the local body of government on September 7, 1854, John Snow argued that the source of the outbreak of a cholera epidemic was water from a communal water pump. His investigation identified the pump at Broad Street near its intersection with Cambridge Street as the source of contaminated water. Cholera which is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, causes significant morbidity and mortality in many developing countries. This paper examines the cholera epidemics (and pandemics) in recent history including the outbreak of 1854 in London and the role played by John Snow which had laid the foundations for the modern principles of epidemiology.

Introduction