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◀ HYGIENE
Until the 1860s, people
did not understand the
importance of hygiene
in preventing infections.
Surgeons did not even
wash their hands before
operating. In 1865, an
English surgeon called
Joseph Lister began to
clean the wounds of his
patients with carbolic acid.
This killed the bacteria that
infected the wounds.A nurse washes her
hands in disinfectant in a
19th-century advertisement◀ VACCINATION
A vaccine is a weak form of a
disease that helps the body
fight a more serious disease.
English doctor Edward
Jenner realized that people
who caught cowpox (a mild
form of smallpox), did not
get the deadlier disease. In
1796, he injected eight-year
old James Phipps with pus
from a cowpox blister. When
he later tried to infect the
boy with smallpox, James
did not catch the disease
and the first vaccine had
been created.Fleming grew
bacteria in
a petri dishBACTERIA
▶Bacteria are microscopic single-celled
organisms that infect wounds and cause diseases. In 1928, Scottish scientist
Alexander Fleming discovered that a
mould growing in his laboratory killed
harmful bacteria. He used this discovery
to create a new type of anti-bacterial medicine, called an antibiotic.SANITATION
▲
The 19th century saw several cholera
pandemics in Europe. These were eventually
ended by building proper sewers, which
stopped bacteria polluting drinking water.
The last European pandemic took place in
Russia in 1923. Cholera is still a problem
in Asia and Africa, with an outbreak in
Yemen in 2016.A new sewer is built in
London in 1845246_247_Disease.indd 247 03/01/19 12:11 PM