Paper
Monday, November 5, 2007
519
1833 Cholera Epidemic in Lexington, Kentucky: Response, Effects and Implications for Our Global Health Today
Teresa M. "Terry" Foody, RN, MSN, Department of Medicine, Pulmonary, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| Learning Objective #1: "The learner will be able to describe the ways environmental, commercial and political influences impact major infectious diseases." |
| Learning Objective #2: "The learner will be able to compare / contrast the cholera epidemics that decimated the 1800's, with diseases that threaten our global community today." |
One disastrous event changed the prominence and destiny of Lexington, Kentucky.A cholera epidemic, possibly arising in India in 1817, reached the New World in 1832.
When the misunderstood malady passed through Lexington in Summer, 1833, it claimed 500 from a population under 7,000. Contributing to the death toll were civic unpreparedness, lack of medical infrastructure, disorganized response, etiology confusion, ineffective treatment and societal bias. The karst geology of the Bluegrass Region and situation of the populace on the Town Branch Creek contributed to the intensity of the epidemic.
This historical study of the 1833 Cholera Epidemic in Lexington, KY examined the total picture of environment, government, commerce and medicine during an incredible challenge against the health of the community. By enlargening the search to other cities/countries involved in the epidemic, a pattern of infection/ response was detected. Upon widening the perspective to other waves of cholera pandemics, it was seen that these patterns emerged repeatedly.
The common factors were based on travel (commerce, war and religion), geography, inadequate public health response, human personality (pride, denial) and political agendas. Major epidemics can develop in remote areas due to ingrained practices and environment and then spread by travel. Patterns of response can be effective or hindered by human control. These similarities bode comparison and relevance to threatening global diseases (SARS, HIV, flu, smallpox) of today.