The Most Feared Disease of the 19th Century

The year was 1854, and London was in the grip of yet another outbreak of cholera​—an intestinal ailment characterized by severe diarrhea and dehydration. The disease struck with alarming speed. Many who awoke in good health were dead by nightfall. There was no known cure.

IT WAS the most feared disease of the century, and the cause remained a mystery. Some thought cholera was contracted by inhaling offensive odors from decaying organic matter. Their suspicions were understandable. The River Thames, which coursed through London, emitted a horrible stench. Did the foul-smelling air carry the disease?

Five years earlier, a physician named John Snow had suggested that cholera was caused, not by contaminated air, but by contaminated water. Another physician, William Budd, believed that a funguslike living organism carried the disease.

During the 1854 epidemic, Snow tested his theory by studying the lives of those who had contracted cholera in the London district of Soho. ‘What do they have in common?’ he wondered. Snow’s investigation led to a startling discovery. All who contracted cholera in that district had obtained drinking water from the same street pump, and that water was contaminated by cholera-infected sewage! *

That same year saw another medical milestone when Italian scientist Filippo Pacini published a paper describing the living organism that caused cholera. For the most part, however, his research was ignored, along with the findings of Snow and Budd. The cholera scourge raged on​—that is, until 1858.

“The Great Stink”

Parliament had been sluggish about building a new sewage system to clean up the Thames, but the heat wave that arrived during the summer of 1858 forced the issue. The stench from the river that flowed past the House of Commons was so overwhelming that the politicians were forced to hang  drapes soaked in disinfectant over their windows in an attempt to disguise the smell. What came to be called the Great Stink pushed Parliament into action. Within 18 days, it ordered the building of a new sewage system.

Huge drains were constructed to intercept sewage before it reached the river and then to transport it to the east of London, where it eventually flowed into the sea on the ebb tide. The results were dramatic. Once all London was connected to the new system, the cholera epidemics ended.

By now, there was no doubt: Cholera was not caused by foul air but by contaminated water or food. Also clear was the key to prevention​—sanitation.

A Law Ahead of Its Time

Thousands of years before cholera epidemics raged through London, Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt. Although they trekked through the Sinai wilderness for some 40 years, the Israelites remained free from epidemics such as cholera. How was that possible?

The nation was directed to bury human waste in a private place away from the camp so that the living area and water sources would not become contaminated. That regulation is recorded in the Bible at Deuteronomy 23:12, 13, which states:

“Set up a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet area. And make sure that you have a small shovel in your equipment. When you go out to the toilet area, use the shovel to dig a hole. Then, after you relieve yourself, bury the  waste in the hole.”​—“Contemporary English Version.”

That simple direction protected the Israelites from diseases that plagued surrounding nations. Similar sanitary practices have saved lives in recent times too. * Consider an example.

“We Never Had an Outbreak”

In the 1970’s, a wave of persecution drove many of Jehovah’s Witnesses out of Malawi. They found safety in neighboring Mozambique, where more than 30,000 men, women, and children settled in ten refugee camps. As is well-known, refugee camps are often a breeding ground for waterborne diseases. So how did the Witnesses fare in those conditions?

Lemon Kabwazi, along with 17,000 others, lived in the largest camp at Mlangeni. He recalls: “The camp was kept clean all the time. Pit latrines were dug outside the camp, and nobody was allowed to dig his own latrine inside. Rubbish pits were dug away from the camp too. Volunteers took care of all aspects of sanitation, including ensuring the cleanliness of the water that came from the wells dug in a different area outside the camp. Although we were cramped, we adhered to Bible standards regarding hygiene, so we never had an outbreak of serious disease, and no one ever suffered from cholera.”

Sadly, in some parts of the world, homes still do not have an adequate sewage system. Excreta-related diseases cause the death of some 5,000 children each day.

Although cholera and similar ailments are preventable and man’s efforts at sanitation have yielded considerable results, the Bible holds forth the hope that soon all sickness will be eliminated. Revelation 21:4 says that under the rule of God’s Kingdom, “death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.” At that time, the Bible promises: “No resident will say: ‘I am sick.’”​—Isaiah 33:24.

To learn more about what God’s Kingdom will do for mankind, see chapters 3 and 8 of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 21]

The River Thames coursed through London and was contaminated by cholera-infected sewage, which is reflected in many illustrations from that era

[Picture on page 22]

More than 30,000 men, women, and children settled in ten refugee camps in Mozambique, which were kept clean all the time

[Picture Credit Lines on page 20]

Death on Thames: © Mary Evans Picture Library; map: University of Texas Libraries