WWI Trilogy

Navigating the Heartache WWI Brings

cholera

Cholera: The Mere Mention of the Word Caused Fear

May 25, 2016 By Melina Druga Off

Cholera. The mere mention of the word was enough to cause fear in 19th century communities. The disease struck suddenly and killed quickly. Its cause wasn’t identified until the 1850s.

Symptoms

Cholera is caused by a bacteria and, like typhoid, is spread by food or water contaminated with feces. Basic sanitation and water purification can keep infection at bay.

Symptoms include:

  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Muscle pain
  • Dehydration

Symptoms sometimes present themselves the same day a victim is exposed to the bacteria. The disease kills the healthy and weak alike.

Epidemics and Pandemics

During the 19th century, there were several cholera outbreaks. In 1854, Dr. John Snow was the first to track the spread of a disease and find its source. He correctly concluded that an outbreak in London was caused by a contaminated well.

The pump caused 500 deaths in 10 days. Once the handle was removed and the pump could no longer be used, the number of new cases stopped.

Before the discovery of the cholera bacteria, people believed the disease was caused by bad vapors and often burned tar to cleanse the air.

A cholera vaccine was developed in 1892, and the final epidemic in the United States occurred in 1911.

Famous Deaths

Cholera claimed the lives of many in the Victorian and Edwardian eras with a death rate of up to 50 percent.

Some notable people who died of the disease before 1920 include:

  • President James Polk
  • French King Charles X
  • World War I Lt. General Frederick Stanley Maude
  • The final full blooded Aborigine in Tasmania, William Lanne
  • Some historians believe Peter Tchaikovsky died of cholera; others believe suicide.

Today, cholera is rare in the developed world thanks to sanitation. In the developing world, however, there are millions of cases annually.

Where to Purchase the WWI Trilogy

This post is a companion piece to Melina Druga’s WWI Trilogy: Angel of Mercy, Those Left Behind and Adjustment Year.  The trilogy focuses on Hettie and her family as they navigate the challenges and heartbreak World War I brings.

Angel of Mercy:  A nurse reluctantly sacrifices her career for marriage. An impending war will change her, and her husband’s, life forever.  Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover.  Click here for a full list of retailers.

Those Left Behind:  The brewing winds of war will soon rip the family apart. Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover.  Click here for a full list of retailers.

Adjustment Year:  A war nurse returns home. Society expects her to carry on as if the Great War never happened. But how can she?  Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover.  Click here for a full list of retailers.

CategoryMedical History
Tagsdiseases

About The Author

Melina Druga writes about the past because although school history classes may have been boring, the past was not.  Her era of expertise, and obsession, is 1890-1920 with a particular focus on the Great War and how it affected the lives of ordinary people.  Druga is the author of the WWI Trilogy.