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John Snow and Epidemiology (September 24, 2004, Two)

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Program Summary

In 1854, cholera held Victorian London in its grip for the third time in 25 years. Doctors were helpless in curing or controlling the epidemic, as mystified as to its cause and origin as they had been during the first outbreak in 1831. Enter John Snow, an English physician known chiefly for his work in the new field of anesthesiology. Snow didn’t develop r a cure or a find a specific cause (he suspected “special animal poisons”). Rather, he noticed a pattern in the locations of cholera cases and came up with a revolutionary theory: The disease was not spread through the air, as was then believed of all diseases, but through water contaminated by infected fecal matter.

Snow found that the disease was concentrated in the neighborhoods using the Broad Street water pump and persuaded skeptical health officials to remove the handle. Snow’s action saved thousands of lives. While his theories were still not readily accepted, they ultimately led to changes in the city’s water systems that improved the population’s health. They also provided the foundation for the science of epidemiology (the study of the spread of disease), which has become an essential weapon in preventing illness from decimating populations and spreading across the globe.

Guests

Nigel Paneth, M.D., M.P.H., professor of epidemiology and pediatrics and associate dean of research in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan

Howard Brody, MD, professor in the departments of family practice and philosophy and in the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences, College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University

Stephen Rachman, associate professor of English and director of the American Studies Program at Michigan State University

Related Links and Resources

BBC.com, Historical Figures: John Snow (1813 - 1854)
Center for Disease Control, September 3, 2004: 150th Anniversary of John Snow and the Pump Handle
Center of Spatially Integrated Social Science: John Snow: The London Cholera Epidemic of 1854
John Snow Archive and Research Collection
Michigan State University Newsroom, August 26, 2004: “One-hundred-fifty-year-old Lessons of John Snow Still Relevant Today”
Science Friday Kids Connection, March 28, 2003: SARS: Anatomy of an Outbreak
UCLA School of Public Health: Mode of Communication of Cholera, by John Snow, M.D.
UCLA School of Public Health: John Snow: A Historical Giant in Epidemiology

Articles Discussed

Cholera, Chloroform, and the Science of Medicine: A Life of John Snow by Peter Vinten-Johansen, Howard Brody, Nigel Paneth, Stephen Rachman, Michael Rip and David Zuck, Oxford University Press, 2003

For Discussion:

• What is epidemiology? Why is John Snow considered the father of epidemiology?
• What did John Snow advise officials to do to control the cholera outbreak? How did he come to this conclusion?
• What methods did Snow use to formulate his theory?
• Up until then, what was the only way scientists thought disease was spread? What do we know about the various means of disease transmission today?

Activities

Let it Snow. For the last word on the life and work of John Snow, visit John Snow: A Historical Giant in Epidemiology, a comprehensive collection of Snowiana – his work on cholera, his other publications, a sight-and-sound biography, friends’ and colleagues’ remembrances, and much more. There is also a link to Disease Outbreak Investigation, a lesson plan in PDF from the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition. Though aimed at grades 10-12, the unit can easily be adapted for middle school.

Yuck! Students will be glad they live in the 21^st century after they read Cholera: Tracking the First Truly Global Disease (National Geographic), which describes cholera outbreaks and living conditions in Victorian London. John Snow’s work, resulting improvements in the water system, and the ultimate identification of the cholera culprit are also discussed

Get excited. The Center for Disease Control offers teachers EXCITE: Excellence in Curriculum Integration through Teaching Epidemiology, a complete package of lesson plans introducing students to epidemiology. They will learn to research actual cases such as Suspected Legionnaires' Disease in Bogalusa.

Follow that germ. Learning is painless when students join Sam Sleuth at Stalking the Mysterious Microbe (American Society for Microbiology), an excellent, kid-friendly resource for information and activities about microbes. Microbe Mysteries uses illustrations, diagrams, and text to highlight a variety of concepts from what a microbe is, to the difference between bacteria and viruses, to how bacteria have impacted evolution.

The future is now. In the not-so-distant future, The Reconstructors Solve Medical Mysteries with students’ help (Rice University}. This comic book style site, complete with robots and futuristic beings, teaches students about epidemiology by putting them through the “qualification” course, then sets them to solving two medical mysteries. Classroom teaching and testing materials are provided.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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