Responses to the cholera epidemics
Nobody knew that choleraA bacterial infection caused by contaminated drinking water. was spread through contaminated water, although people began to link dirt to disease. Additionally, some attempts were made to clean up the towns. However, without an understanding of the true cause, these efforts had little impact.
Beliefs about the causes of cholera
Cholera was not linked with dirty water until the 1850s, and even then the theory was not widely accepted. During the first (1831-1832) and second (1848-1849) epidemics:
- The most common belief was still the miasma theory. According to this theory, the disease spread through decaying waste and rubbish, which poisoned the air.
- Some doctors argued that the disease was contagious, passing by touch.
- Some Church leaders said that cholera was a punishment from God.
In 1854, John Snow, a doctor working in Soho in London, became convinced that cholera was spread through dirty water. He carried out a study of cases near his surgery and mapped them out. He managed to show scientifically that the victims had all shared the same water pump on Broad Street. The pump's handle was removed, to prevent further use, and there were no further cases. This proved that the water supply was the cause. However, his theory was not widely accepted at this point.
Responses to cholera from the authorities
The authorities responded to the cholera epidemics in several ways:
- The government encouraged towns to set up local boards of health to monitor the spread of the disease and advise the local population. These were voluntary and had to fund themselves.
- Some boards of health took action to get rid of miasma. For example, they cleaned up rubbish and waste from the streets and burned barrels of tar to clear smells. They added chloride of lime to the sewers to improve the smell.
- Others followed the theory that cholera was contagious and imposed a quarantine by stopping people moving from the centres of towns to the suburbs.
- Lots of towns opened special cholera hospitals to isolate victims.
Case study - Leeds
Leeds set up a local board of health in 1831. The board employed the surgeon and factory inspector Dr Robert Baker to investigate the spread of cholera. He mapped out the dirty areas of the town and found that there were high concentrations of cases in these places.
Baker believed that miasma, caused by dunghills and cesspitAn underground pit used for collecting human excrement. was spreading cholera. Although this was incorrect, his report was an important piece of evidence about conditions in towns, and about the link between dirt and disease more generally.
The Leeds Board of Health also:
- published advice to people on posters and in newspapers - the advice included measures such as opening windows, avoiding alcohol and washing regularly
- opened a cholera hospital to quarantine victims
Responses to cholera from ordinary people
People were terrified and desperate during cholera epidemics:
- They tried various home remedies bought from shops, which would not have worked.
- Church attendance rose.
- There were riots in several towns and cities. Rumours spread that cholera was being used as a way to reduce the population of the poor. Liverpool experienced eight major riots in the summer of 1832.
Changes
By the time of the 1865-1866 epidemic, Louis Pasteur had published his germ theoryLouis Pasteur published this theory in 1861 to prove that bacteria caused disease. The theory was widely accepted by the 1880s. which showed that germs caused disease. Additionally, John Snow’s theory that cholera was a water-borne disease was widely accepted.
By this point, governments had already started to introduce new laws to clean up the towns, but more were to follow. Significant changes to health in towns were not made until the 1848 Public Health Act and the 1875 Public Health Act.
