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Pandemics, Society, and Public Health, 1517–1925 - Volumes
Volumes
4 volumes in Pandemics, Society, and Public Health, 1517–1925
Cholera
The archival sources in this volume chart the influence of cholera in the UK throughout the nineteenth century (although it also contains some documents relating to the disease from the twentieth century). Cholera is an infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. It spreads through contaminated water and food, leading to severe diarrhoea and dehydration. Originally, cholera was endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Due to increased global trade throughout the nineteenth century, the disease spread to Europe. Cholera was responsible for mass mortality in the UK and Ireland, particularly throughout the early to mid-nineteenth century. Britain experienced its first major epidemic in 1832. A further outbreak occurred in the late 1840s. The connection between contaminated water and the spread of the disease was eventually discovered. This led the British state to implement vast improvements in sanitation and public infrastructure.The documents within this collection were sourced from four leading UK archives: The National Archives, British Library, University College London, and London Metropolitan Archives. A complete item listing can be found on the Downloads page for this collection. Read more →
Influenza
This volume is concerned with influenza, specifically the effects of the influenza pandemic of 1918–1920 in the UK. Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is caused by influenza viruses, particularly the H1N1 influenza A virus. Unlike plague, cholera, and smallpox, influenza was not regarded as a “notifiable disease” until the early twentieth century. It was considered to be a seasonal infection due to its common symptoms such as high fever, cough, sore throat, and fatigue. Assumptions about influenza were overturned in 1918. This pandemic occurred in three waves, with the second being the deadliest, as it affected young, healthy adults. During this pandemic, an estimated 33% of the world’s population were inflected with influenza and at least 50 million people died. The documents within this collection were sourced from four leading UK archives: The National Archives, British Library, University College London, and London Metropolitan Archives. A complete item listing can be found on the Downloads page for this collection. Read more →
Plague
The archival sources in this volume relate to plague. It is a bacterial illness transmitted to humans via infected fleas typically found on small animals such as rats, and occasionally through contact with contaminated bodily fluids. Common plague symptoms include fever, vomiting, delirium, expelling blood, and enlargement of the lymph nodes resulting in swelling to the groin and armpits. Between 1665 and 1666, London was struck with its most severe outbreak of plague. It resulted in the death of more than 15% of the city’s population. Often considered a biological relic of the distant past, the last outbreak of plague occurred in Britain in 1720, far more recently than people assume. This volume tracks responses to plague in the UK from the early sixteenth century until the eighteenth century, although the volume also contains documents that date from the mid-nineteenth century. The documents within this volume were sourced from four leading UK archives: The National Archives, British Library, University College London, and London Metropolitan Archives. A complete item listing can be found on the Downloads page for this collection. Read more →
Smallpox
This volume is concerned with smallpox. Caused by the Variola virus, smallpox is regarded as one of the deadliest diseases in human history. It is characterised by an initial fever and vomiting, followed by the formation of a distinctive rash with fluid-filled blisters. Mortality rates were extremely high, particularly for young children. Smallpox was a leading cause of death in eighteenth century Europe. It frequently left survivors disabled. In the late eighteenth century, physician Edward Jenner developed a smallpox vaccine that utilised cowpox for the purposes of inoculation—he realised that people who had contracted cowpox seemed immune to smallpox. The introduction of the smallpox vaccine led to a significant reduction in smallpox cases worldwide and ultimately led to the eradication of the disease.This volume tracks responses to smallpox in the UK throughout the nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. The volume also contains documentation regarding smallpox dating from the eighteenth century. The documents within this collection were sourced from four leading UK archives: The National Archives, British Library, University College London, and London Metropolitan Archives. A complete item listing can be found on the Downloads page for this collection. Read more →
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