Mapping Disease

During the mid-1880s in London cholera outbreaks were taking over the city. London was growing rapidly and by 1851 it was the largest city in the world. Due to the sheer amount of people in such a small space, waste management, or lack there of, became a tremendous problem. This problem was amplified by the popularity of water closets and the lack of a functioning sewer system (Johnson, 12). Because of these problems, cesspools that contaminated drinking water were causing a massive cholera outbreak.

John Snow’s Cholera Map from 1855 uses a type of bar graph to chart the number of deaths surrounding the Broad Street water pump which was the main source of contaminated water. This map aided in the development of the theory of disease transmission through water. This theory was seen as ground breaking because many people had thought the disease was spread through the air, because of the horrible smell due to improper waste management.

Alexander Johnston’s map the was produced a year after Snow’s, depicts the spread of disease on a global scale. Johnston attempts to link a natural phenomenon and disease transmission, he more or less links human movement and disease. This is very similar to the way Snow ties foot traffic around London to cholera contaminated drinking water.

Johnston’s map shows the British navy in blue and the routes they took around Africa and southwest Asia. It is noted that diseases are more widespread here than in places like Australia were the British had no contact at. I feel as though Johnston’s map would be easier to follow if he were to have focused on one disease, one color, and a wider area other than multiple diseases, multiple colors, and a smaller area. In my opinion John Snow’s map is easier to read and has created a better argument for the spread and progression of diseases.

References

Johnson, Steven. The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic — and How it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World. New York: River Head Books, 2006.

Johnston, Alexander. The Geographical Distribution of Health and Disease, in Connection Chiefly with Natural Phenomena. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1856. David Ramsey Historical Map Collection, https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~24722~940061:The-geographical-distribution-of-he.

Snow, John. Cholera Map. 1855. https://kora.matrix.msu.edu/files/21/121/15-79-54-30-johnsnow-a0a1d5-a_16430.jpg.