In August of 1854, Soho, a suburb of London, was hit with an outbreak of cholera. The symptoms of cholera include severe diarrhea, dehydration, and vomiting. It can be fatal within hours. As a result, 616 deaths occurred. John Snow, a British doctor, was trying to convince other doctors how the outbreak was spread, through contaminated water. He learned that a mother washer her baby's diaper in water which she then dumped into a cesspool right next to the Broad Street Pump. The baby had cholera from some other source that is still unknown to this day. Because of this information, Snow continued his investigation of the Broad Street Pump where he found the source of the contamination. "As soon as I became acquainted with the situation and extent of this irruption of cholera, I suspected contamination of the water of the much-frequented street-pump in Broad Street" (Snow). He began to track the cases of who contracted cholera and it all led back to the pump. He made a case with the town officials and had them remove the handle of the pump. After the handle was removed, the outbreak came toa stop and people weren't getting sick anymore.
Snow's investigative work was what helped the spread of cholera end in the town of Soho. Without his work, many more people would have died. Although people didn't believe him about how cholera was spread, he was still able to get the town officials to take off the handle of the Broad Street Pump which led to the cease of the outbreak. His research helped save many lives. Although Snow conducted his research mostly in London, he did continue to research cholera all throughout England to help reduce the spread of the outbreak. His reserach helped everyone learn that contaminated water was the source of cholera and learned how to prevent it.
In The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole, cholera was a big aspect of the story. Mrs. Seacole was the one who helped those who were sick and even got cholera herself. Luckily, she lived and was able to save many lives of those dying from cholera.
Works Cited
Picard, Liza. "Health and Hygiene in the 19th Century." 14 Oct 2009. https://www.bl.uk/victorian-britain/articles/health-and-hygiene-in-the-19th-century
Tulchinsky, Theodore. "John Snow, Cholera, the Broad Street Pump; Waterborne Diseases Then and Now." 2018 Mar 30. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7150208/
Tuthill, Kathleen. "John Snow and the Broad Street Pump on the Trail of an Epidemic." 2003 Nov. https://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/snowcricketarticle.html#:~:text=British%20doctor%20John%20Snow%20couldn,epidemic%20that%20killed%20616%20people.