The Broad Street Killer

I read a book called The Broad Street Killer.

 It was about London in the 1800 and a break out of a disease called Cholera

. Cholera is and infectious disease caused by the microbe vibrio cholera. Although there was once no cure, today the disease is easily treated. Despite this, around 1.5 million people many of them children continue to die each year from diarrhea caused by microbes like cholera. They are infected with the disease for the same reasons as people living in the nineteenth century London: crowded living conditions, poor sewerage systems, and untreated drinking water. 

This book was about the break out of Cholera and a Dr called Dr Snow. Dr snow had an idea about who this breakout started hos idea was contaminated water but other people thought it was bad air causing this. But..... When Dr Snow discovers something that would make everybody believe him something happens a little baby passed away because of the disease then the government started to believe him and then discovers a crack in the pipe connecting  the sewerage system  to the river and it turned out that the sewer waste was going into the clean water!

Here is a letter Dr Snow wrote before he passed away:

The Editor
Medical Times and Gazette
Sir,
As soon as I became acquainted with the situation and extent of
the late outbreak of cholera in Broad-street, Golden Squre, 
and the adjoining streets, I suspect some contamination of the
water of the much frequented street-pump in Broad-street ...

On proceeding to the spot, I found that nearly all the deaths had taken place within a short distance of the pump. There were
Only ten deaths in house situated decidedly nearer to another 
street pump. In five of these cases the families of the deceased
persons informed me that they always sent to to the pump in Broad street, as they preferred the water to that of the pumps which were nearer. In three other cases the deceased were children who went to school near the pump in Broad-Street