×
Lastning pågår

The 1850s map that changed how we fight outbreaks

1 medlem

It all starts with a pump.

Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO

In this episode of Vox Almanac, Vox’s Phil Edwards explores Dr. John Snow’s map of the Broad Street Pump, which changed epidemiology forever.

In 1854, news spread about a mysterious new cholera outbreak in London. At the time, doctors and scientists largely believed the disease traveled in a “miasma” — a floating cloud of sickness. Dr. John Snow suspected bad water might actually be the agent of transmission — and he wanted to prove it in time to stop the outbreak.

Through a mix of personal interviews, clever detective work, and data analysis that included tables and a famous map, Snow managed to stop the outbreak and convince local public health officials, eventually, that cholera could be transmitted through water, not a miasma. Since his breakthrough study, the map has become an iconic piece of epidemiological history, as an illustration of keen detective work, analysis, and visual representation with a map that, even today, tells a story.

Watch the above video to learn more.

Further Reading:

Cholera, chloroform, and the science of medicine : a life of John Snow
https://archive.org/details/cholerachlorofor00pete

This lengthy academic study of John Snow’s life and work follows his career as a pioneering anesthesiologist as well as his work on cholera. It clears up a lot of misconceptions about his influence and work and gives you a bit of a picture of snow as a person (he was a teetotaler and vegetarian — both unusual for the time).

Cartographies of disease : maps, mapping, and medicine
https://archive.org/details/cartographiesofd0000koch/page/100/mode/2up

Tom Koch’s history of disease mapping is a great overview of the discipline. It shows how the practice existed before Snow, how Snow’s map changed and influenced the field (and how it didn’t), and how far disease mapping has come since.


Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.

Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H

Nästa avsnitt
S01E1164 - Why this font is everywhere
Se avsnittet

Episoder (1595)

Säsong 1

Liknande program (10)

Explained
Explained
Les évadés du bureau
Les évadés du bureau
Vsauce
Vsauce
Psych2Go
Psych2Go
100 amis
100 amis
Darren fait une dépression, la websérie londonienne
Darren fait une dépression, la websérie…
Sans gêne
Sans gêne
Ça rime à rien
Ça rime à rien
Deux Italiens à Paris
Deux Italiens à Paris
Sexe opposé
Sexe opposé