was a constant threat during the Industrial Revolution. Changes
in the way that people lived and the conditions in which they
worked led to disease being able to spread much more rapidly,
and new forms of disease emerged that were as deadly as any
killer that had been before.
grew very quickly as factories led to migrations from the
countryside and immigration from different parts of Europe
and the empire. As the demand for housing increased so rapidly
the quality of homes constructed was low. Housing for the
worker was cramped in, built quickly and built with little
regard for hygeine. In many cities the result was that large
slums were areas where houses were small, roads narrow and
services such as rubbish collection, sewage works and basic
washing facilities non existant. In this type of climate bacterias
grow quickly, the water supply is likely to become infected
and weaker people are likely to fall ill much more rapidly.
was often the problem. Factories would dump waste into streams
and rivers. The same streams and rivers were used to supply
homes with water for washing and cooking. Soon peoples health
was endangered. In many slums the same water supply was infected
with human sewage as toilet facilities were often inadequate
and sometimes consisted of a toilet blcok that was emptied
irregularly: meaning that when it rained, the waste may overflow
into the gutter and therefore into the rivers and streams.
result of this is the spread of disease.
of the main killers of the industrial age was Cholera. This
deadly diease was water borne and spread through filthy cities
with ease, killing thousands. Typhoid also took a hold in
some areas and aain made great use of the poor sewage provisions
to take a hold of many areas.
such as Cholera and Typhoid are now fairly easily prevented.
Basic cleanliness, underground sewage pipes and regularly
cleaned and controlled water supplies doing most of the work
to prevent any re-occurence of this form of disease. One of
the main reasons why the disease spread so quickly was because
there was no effective waste
management policies in place.
an age where the ordinary man had no political say however,
and no money or even education to support a claim for improved
conditions, the issue was often overlooked. These diseases
rarely ouhed the wealthy, there was always another worker
available to replce those who died, so why should they concern
themselves with issues such as the health of the poor? Thankfully
some of the great industrialists of the time did see a worth
in tackling the problem and there were a number of reports
and recommendations made into preventing disease and impoving
hygeine. The most notable including the works of Rowntree
and Booth. The Industrial age also saw the advent of new forms
of science and medical
advances, these too aided the fight against killers such
as Cholera and Typhoid.