Cholera In Chicago

In American industrial cities, late 1800s, Poor neighborhood were not the best place to live. With poor living conditions, poor sanitation and crowded housing, many epidemics of infectious disease spread into the poor population and touched even the wealthy class. Cities such as New York were crowded and workers were living in tenements, which were often cramped, poorly lit and poorly aerated. Moreover, these tenements lacked of adequate plumbing, therefore waste was flooding in the public streets. Streets was crowded of waste and garbage. Population was poorly nourished and has a poor life hygiene like water pollution and poisoned food and milk. Accordingly, infectious disease was the common death reason. Big cities had known outbreaks of

Outbreaks of cholera were not isolated to the European and Asian continents, as several major cases within the United States have been recorded back to colonial times. As trade increased with the old world, infected sailors bringing the disease to major port cities, spreading it even further as products became distributed across the nation. Famously documented as one of the most vital turning points for public health medicine within the US, the city of Chicago mirrored what was unfolding in the 1854 London outbreak. Congruent to Snow’s findings, entire families suddenly became severely ill and dying off. As an effort to combat the pestilence, Ellis Chesbrough, an already established railroad engineer, designed a series of sewer systems modeled

David Cutler & Grant Miller, (2004). The Role of Public Health Improvements in Health Advances: The 20th Century United States. Retrieved from http://scholar.harvard.edu/cutler/files/cutler_miller_cities.pdf

Healthcare in early America was not based on scientific medicine and healthcare facilities were limited to “at home” care. The view of health care was focused on epidemics of acute infections related to poor food, water, housing and sanitation resulting limited to untrained physicians an d nurses that were inadequate to provide sustainable life saving care (Williams & Torrens, 2008). Since health care was limited to the home or charity, very little progress was made to on the prevention of diseases. During the early 1800’s towns like North Carolina had no way to combat the spread of diseases like small pox, therefore their only option was to introduce maritime quarantine that would later lay the groundwork for advances in control measures for epidemic diseases (Watson, 2013). These measures helped limit the spread of the disease but failed to address disease management. However the advancement of medical schools such as Harvard

By the 19th century, Tuberculosis or “consumption,” also known as “The Forgotten Plague,” had killed nearly one in seven of all the persons who had ever lived in America. This “plague” affected nearly everyone who lived in America, whether it was their father, mother, sister, or brother. It affected women, men, and even children. These victims suffered from bloody hacking coughing, unbearable pain, and fatigue. At this time, no one knew what caused it and how to cure it. Many believed the sickness was passed on hereditarily and that only certain people would stem this illness depending upon their genes. Little did they know, that this infectious disease was spread through coughing and close contact with people who had “consumption”. The role “consumption” played in affecting American History is very important for the fact that it helped with developments in better health laws, better social habits, and better medicine and treatments for sickness.

This date was significant, as it provided the first time in United States’ history where every household was informed about a potential disease that could affect the populace. This would in hand lead to caution and better choices of lifestyle. Most importantly, this change would influence public health policy in modern times, as it would enhance the future use of public health organizations to communicate effectively reach out to the populace in a safe-mannered protocol.

The year is 1849 and so far I have discovered several things about the cholera outbreak in London. My colleagues assume that the cause of cholera is caused by poison carried in the air that results from decaying matter (Fairbanks and Candelaria 10). However, I disagree with my colleagues in their belief of the miasma theory (Mckenzie 13). I have constructed a theory that the disease is spread by person-to-person contact and the material causing the cholera, must be in fact, swallowed and introduced into the alimentary canal (Fairbanks and Candelaria 10). My experience with the disease shows that not everyone who treats a sick person becomes sick, and others get sick even with the absence of a sick person in close proximity (Fairbanks and Candelaria 10). I have found that physicians who practice superior cleanliness do not get cholera. Cholera outbreak also seems to be worse among working class people, poor cleanliness seems to be what contributes to the spread of the disease (Fairbanks and Candelaria 10). The sanitary conditions of the city are not well by any means. The city is overcrowded, streets were unpaved, filthy, and heaped with trash and garbage (McKenzie 11). Most people get their drinking water from a water pump that is in close proximity to their house.

Local public health agencies can serve as effective vehicles for delivering community-based chronic disease activities because of their wide geographic distribution across the U.S., their statutory authority to implement public health laws and programs, and their relationships with diverse community stakeholders (CITATION). However, the limited availability of funding has historically restricted local public health agency

The FBI’s announcement of their investigation indicates a turning point in the fight for public health in the city. The question is: who knew what and when did they know

In this paper, I am going to discuss the epidemic that was going on during the time in which my story was written. The Cholera epidemic was a very serious illness and was spreading very rampantly. I will discuss the signs and symptoms that are associated with the illness and what was the probable cause. I will also discuss a few changes that were made with public sanitation do to the outbreak of Cholera.

The two major public health achievements, over the past 200 years, surround the control of infectious diseases and advances in hygiene and sanitation. More specifically: immunizations through development of vaccines, safety in the areas of driving and in the workplace, ways to keep food safe by learning more about bacteria, better quality in drinking water including the addition of fluoride, healthcare for Moms, babies, children and families, the connections between tobacco and the hazardous results from its use, and drop in deaths from chronic illnesses such as heart disease and strokes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).

Public health was entirely unheard of before Ms. Wald. Instead of treating the sick and injured, Wald thought many problems could be prevented with education, the basis of public

Progression through these eras resulted in the improvement of health strategies and interventions, allowing for the United States to be proactive in their preparation efforts of disease, rather than reactive to the imminent threat to human health and safety. The 20th century was the single most advancing era of public health in history, changing not only the world of medicine as we know it, but changing public perception of the world they live in .

The structure of cholera is that of a prokaryote cell. Unlike eukaryotic cells, prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus or any membrane-bound organelles. Instead they have a single chromosome, double stranded piece of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which is located in the nucleoid. There is also ribosomes and plasmids in prokaryotic cells. There is a cell wall outside of the plasma membrane, this dictates the shape of the cell and acts as a protective layer for the cell, defending it from our bodies natural immune response. Cholera takes the shape of a pentagon. Some prokaryotic cells have flagellum to enable the cell to move however, cholera does not have flagellum. The structure of cholera differs to that from a eukaryotic cells in many ways.

The prevention of cholera can be achieved through clean, uncontaminated water supplies and good sanitation. The sea food needs to be well cooked before consumption. Breast feeding the babies can prevent cholera infection in infants. When surface water is used in endemic areas, filtering through even a saree cloth can lessen the transmission of infection. The travelers should avoid tap water in endemic countries and should drink bottled water. They also should avoid eating raw vegetables, food from street or cart vendors and undercooked or raw sea food (LaRocque & Harris, 2016). There are still 760 million people around the globe that lack clean water supplies. Two types of cholera vaccines are available to use in endemic countries which can reduce the risk of transmission of cholera. Dukoral vaccine is available in Netherlands and Shanchol in India (LaRocque, & Harris, 2016). Plague can be prevented by rodent and flea control especially in endemic areas and avoiding contact with rodents and rodent corpses. Chemoprophylaxis can be achieved with doxycycline or levofloxacin in contacts with pneumonic plague. Bactrim can be used for post exposure prophylaxis in pregnant women and children. Killed whole cell vaccine available in endemic areas that can be given in two doses 1-3-month interval (Sexton, 2015).