This article tells the story of how the source of the cholera epidemic in 1854 was identified. As you read it, think about how geography might help us to identify the cause of diseases today and offer some support in reducing the incidence of disease, including diseases that are not communicable such as heart disease and cancer.
John Snow is often described as the father of epidemiology. Unlike many doctors at the time, Snow was born into poverty, but he became the anaesthetist to Queen Victoria, and his wider work made a significant contribution to public health. Epidemiology, literally meaning ‘the study of what is upon the people’, involves analysing the patterns of factors that affect health or disease in populations.
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