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John Snow Epidemiology

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As bench scientists, we deal primarily with the tangible aspects of biology. The mechanisms and pathways that we try to understand not only allow for us to delve more into how the world works, but can also shed light on disease. However, there is a subject that while distant from traditional bench work, is equally as important in its contribution to disease prevention and deserves more attention. And that topic is… epidemiology!

While there are many different areas to epidemiology, the underlying goal is to predict and prevent disease within a defined population. From Ebola to influenza, large scale infections are an ever-present threat, and epidemiology is the cornerstone of keeping everything under control. Still, not many people, even scientists, truly understand what epidemiology is all about. For those itching to learn a little more about a fascinating subject, read on!

John Snow Is Kind of a Big Deal
No, not Jon Snow…JOHN Snow. Many consider him to be the father of epidemiology because of his effort to trace the source of a cholera outbreak in the Soho neighborhood of London in 1854 (1). Until that time, most people believed that diseases were caused by pollution or “bad air”, otherwise known as the miasma theory. I know, I know, but at this point nobody knew how disease was …show more content…
He hypothesized that the outbreak was due to sewage contamination of the local water supply and started mapping the area where the water pumps were located and where the people who got sick from cholera lived. And wouldn’t you know, every single person afflicted by the disease had been retrieving their water from one pump centralized on Broad Street. Eventually, Snow was able to convince the local authorities that this one water pump was the culprit, resulting in it being removed from the neighborhood and thus ending the

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