JOHNSNOWDEFEATS"KINGCHOLERA"

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JohnSnowwasafamousdoctorinLondon-soexpert,indeed,thatheattendedQueenVictoriaasherpersonalphysician.Buthebecameinspiredwhenhethoughtabouthelpingordinarypeopleexposedtocholera.Thiswasthedeadlydiseaseofitsday.Neitheritscausenoritscurewasunderstood.Somanythousandsofterrifiedpeoplediedeverytimetherewasanoutbreak.JohnSnowwantedtofacethechallengeandsolvethisproblem.Heknewthatcholerawouldneverbecontrolleduntilitscausewasfound.

Hebecameinterestedintwotheoriesthatpossiblyexplained

howcholerakilledpeople.Thefirstsuggestedthatcholeramultipliedintheair.Acloudofdangerousgasfloatedarounduntilitfounditsvictims.Thesecondsuggestedthatpeopleabsorbedthisdiseaseintotheirbodieswiththeirmeals.Fromthestomachthediseasequicklyattackedthebodyandsoontheaffectedpersondied.

JohnSnowsuspectedthatthesecondtheorywascorrectbutheneededevidence.SowhenanotheroutbreakhitLondonin1854,hewasreadytobeginhisenquiry.Asthediseasespreadquicklythroughpoorneighbourhoods,hebegantogatherinformation.Intwoparticularstreets,thecholeraoutbreakwassoseverethatmorethan500peoplediedintendays.Hewasdeterminedtofindoutwhy.

Firsthemarkedonamaptheexactplaceswhereallthedeadpeoplehadlived.Thisgavehimavaluableclueaboutthecauseofthedisease.ManyofthedeathswerenearthewaterpumpinBroadStreet(especiallynumbers16,37,38and40).Healsonoticedthatsomehouses(suchas20and21BroadStreetand8and9CambridgeStreet)hadhadnodeaths.Hehadnotforeseenthis,sohemadefurtherinvestigations.Hediscoveredthatthesepeopleworkedinthepubat7CambridgeStreet.Theyhadbeengivenfreebeerandsohadnotdrunkthewaterfromthepump.Itseemedthatthewaterwastoblame.

Next,JohnSnowlookedintothesourceofthewaterforthesetwostreets.HefoundthatitcamefromtheriverpollutedbythedirtywaterfromLondon.HeimmediatelytoldtheastonishedpeopleinBroadStreettoremovethehandlefromthepumpsothatitcouldnotbeused.Soonafterwardsthediseasesloweddown.Hehadshownthatcholerawasspreadbygermsandnotinacloudof