DISEASES

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Influenza

Circa 1890 there was a flu pandemic.

Over 1918-20 the world was subject to what was dubbed the Spanish flu (H1N1). The first case was reported in Kansas when an army cook was struck down. 500 million cases were to follow.

During the final months of the Great War a flu outbreak killed 228,000 Britons and millions of people worldwide.

Spanish Flu triggered a cytokine storm which could prove fatal. It was the body s immune system causing an inflammatory reaction that killed the sufferer rather than the virus itself. Troops leaving Europe took it around the world.

Circa 1960 Asian flu (H2N2) caused a pandemic.

In 2002 Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer for England, authored a report that led to the establishment of a ministerial committee to plan for a pandemic. As a result, Parliament endorsed the establishment of a national response framework.

In 2007 the N.H.S., the Civil Service, the Army, and police forces engaged in Operation Winter Willow, a rehearsal for a possible pandemic.

In 2009 the H1N1 virus strain re-emerged. It was dubbed Swine Flu. However, it proved to be much milder that its post-First World War iteration. While 1.4 people across the globe were infected, less than 500 Britons deaths were attributed to it.

In 2016 Operation Cygnus was undertaken. It was concluded that Britain was not prepared to handle an extreme pandemic.

Leprosy

See Also: COUNTRYSIDE Fields

The Leprosy Mission

The Leprosy Mission was founded in 1874 by Wellesley Bailey (1846-1937). It is a Christian charity.

Website: www.leprosymission.org.uk

St Giles's Hospital

A hospital for lepers (named after their patron saint St Giles) was founded in 1101 by Queen Matilda, the consort of King Henry I, on what was to become the district of St Giles's. The church started out as the hospital s chapel but soon started serving the local people. The hospital was closed in 1539 by King Henry VIII.

Location: 60 St Giles High Street, WC2H 8LG. St Giles s leper house was roughly on the site of the church and Phoenix Gardens. (blue, purple)

See Also: WINE Vineyards

Malaria

The miasma theory of malaria led to eucalyptuses bein planted in places around the world where they could grow. This was because it was believed that the smell they gave off would have a positive impact.

Florence Nightingale continued to believe that malaria was caused by bad air until her death.

The Consequences of Six Pints A Day

The barrister Clarissa Dickson Wright (1947-2014) spent several years as an alcoholic. She overcame the problem. However, she had damaged her body medically, notably her adrenal glands. One of the physicians who examined her sticky blood observed that she appeared to be suffering from a condition that was suffered by people who took too many quinine tablets. She revealed responded by stating that for twelve years she had been drinking six pints of tonic water a day.

Sir Ronald Ross

Sir Ronald Ross established the link between malaria and mosquitoes.

Ross appreciated that the mosquito bite transmitted malaria. In 1902 he was awarded a Nobel Prize. He applied mathematics to controlling exposure.

Location: 18 Cavendish Square, W1G 0PJ (blue, purple)

Redundant Theories

Miasma

Contagion was well-established as a theory of disease communication. Miasma had been created during the 1830s and 1840s. It was why the Victorians had heavy net curtains - to keep out the bad air.

Florence Nightingale believed in miasma until her dying day.

Location: 8 South Street, W1Y 5PJ (orange, red)

Rheumatoid Arthritis

In 1938 the surgeon Philip Wiles performed the first hip replacements on people who had rheumatoid arthritis. The stainless-steel head and stems soon wore and the patients founded themselves to again be suffering pain after not many years.

S.T.D.s

Prior to the development of effective drugs for treating S.T.D.s, there was a medical saying - One night with Venus and then a lifetime with Mercury.

Tuberculosis

Modernism

Architects such as Mies van de Rohe and Le Corbusier created the Modernist style of architecture in the post-First World era in large part as a response to the fact that tuberculosis was incurable at the time. Sunlight and fresh air were appreciated to be able to reduce the severity of the disease upon some patients.

Typhus

Prince Albert was probably killed by typhoid fever.

In late 1871 the Prince of Wales succumbed to typhus. For two month s he was close to death. However, ultimately, he survived. One of the first signs that the Prince of Wales was beginning to recover from his bout of typhus was his request for a glass of Bass s beer. Following his recovery, he declared that had he not been a prince then he would have wished to have to been a plumber.

David Backhouse 2024