Diseases and Infections
The book details the spread of cholera in Europe in the 19th century that claimed many lives. Tue disease originates from drinking water that is supplied all through the city. Due to the high population and lack of proper hygiene, the disease spreads like wildfire killing anyone that comes into with it. The health administration of the city at the time was unaware of the root cause of this epidemic. The people of this city lived in fear of an enemy that they could not identify with their naked eye. It took decades for scientists to gather adequate information about the disease. By then, hundreds of thousands were dead and the way of life completely shattered. The book informs the reader of how an infection in a crowded city spreads and how to fight it accordingly. John Snow, one of the scientists that are hard at work trying to understand and mitigate the disease, faces a lot of challenges as he works on beating a never before seen disease.
Urban Life
The book highlights the faults in the capitalist boom that saw millions of people leave the rural areas for the urban areas which offered more wages and opportunities. The city develops with no planning whatsoever which creates a disaster when a disease as rampant as cholera invades it. Water lines and sewer lines are not properly managed while households are built without care to meet surging demand whilst forgetting the recipe for disaster that is unfolding without notice. While the epidemic is devastating, humanity learns to plan for such things, and they get better informed and equipped to handle such problems in the future, should they arise.
Social Class
Depending on what job you had and what neighborhood you lived in, the disease seemed to discriminate against those individuals from the lower class more than the upper class. Most people that live in the middle of the city are lower-class people who earn very minimum income. They cannot afford a proper, suburban home, thus they live in the congested apartments of the city. When the disease begins to spread, these people are hit the most with the disease. They live in households that are unsafe and prone to infection due to the high population of people living there. While those from the upper class are somewhat spared from this disease because of their healthy environment. Most upper-class individuals prefer to live outside the city where it’s safer and less chaotic when the disease hit.