The Ghost Map
In the summer of 1854, London was coming out as one of the most modern cities in the world. With nearly 2.4 million people living in the area at the time, the city’s infrastructure itself was having a hard time providing for the basic needs of its residents. The biggest problem existing within the city at that time was its waste removal system, or for better terms, its lack of one. Human waste was piling up everywhere, from people houses to the rivers and drinking water. This situation was the perfect breeding conditions for a number of diseases, and towards the end of that summer, one of the most deadly of them all took over. It took the work of both a physician and a local minister in order to discover the mysterious cause of the extremely deadly Cholera outbreak, but by then hundreds of people had already lost their lives.
It all started when a baby girl in Golden Square, the poorest and most densely populated area in London, came down with the sickness. The bacteria got was put into the family’s cesspool and it then spread into the nearby water supply. This water pump on Broad Street also happened to be the cleanest source of water around for the London residents in that area. A lot of people would even travel farther than they needed to just to get their hands on this water. Little did they know, though, that in the next few days a great number of them would be dead. This disease happened quickly. A person could go from perfectly healthy to completely dead in a matter of 12 hours and that fear was felt by every person who lived there. Symptoms included watery diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps as the bacteria worked hard to rid the body of every bit of water it contained. Eventually the victim would die a conscious and painful death of dehydration. One man braved through his fears and decided to be there for his fellow man. This young clergyman was named Henry Whitehead. He would go from door to door, nursing the sick and being with families,
It all started when a baby girl in Golden Square, the poorest and most densely populated area in London, came down with the sickness. The bacteria got was put into the family’s cesspool and it then spread into the nearby water supply. This water pump on Broad Street also happened to be the cleanest source of water around for the London residents in that area. A lot of people would even travel farther than they needed to just to get their hands on this water. Little did they know, though, that in the next few days a great number of them would be dead. This disease happened quickly. A person could go from perfectly healthy to completely dead in a matter of 12 hours and that fear was felt by every person who lived there. Symptoms included watery diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps as the bacteria worked hard to rid the body of every bit of water it contained. Eventually the victim would die a conscious and painful death of dehydration. One man braved through his fears and decided to be there for his fellow man. This young clergyman was named Henry Whitehead. He would go from door to door, nursing the sick and being with families,
Cited: Johnson, Steven. The Ghost Map. New York City: Penguin Group USA Inc. , 2006.