The International E-magazine on Adolescent Health; Nutrition and Your Circulatory and Respiratory Systems (e.gMarch.2014) | Page 9

Health during the Industrial
Revolution
The Oxford dictionary says the Industrial Revolution was “the rapid
development of industry that occurred in Britain in the late 18th and 19th centuries,
brought about by the introduction of machinery.” It didn´t only brought industries
and mass production of goods for Britain, it brought three of the greatest threats,
health had ever seen during the 19th century. Cholera was a bacteria that
transmitted through contaminated water. Tuberculosis was one of the deadliest
diseases of all time that ever struck Great Britain. Smallpox outbreak cause great
shock and a very unpleasant disease during the Industrial Revolution. This three
caused problems in Great Britain in the 19th century and were brought by the
machinery of the city. The industries polluted the ground and water with sulphuric
acid and with other chemicals. Also, contaminated the air with gases like
hydrochloric acid. This contaminations lead to the beginning of the outbreaks in
England.
Industrial cities in Great Britain were affected in 1831-1867. Cholera was
one of the diseases that were commonly caught in different places when the
industrial revolution started and it spread like wildfire. Cholera is caused by a
bacteria that is named Vibrio Cholerae, this bacteria could infect your intestine
because if you consumed polluted water or by eating food that has the bacteria.
This bacteria could easily infect people through river water and it was painful, but
not always deadly, as the History Learning Site stated only 50% of the people died
in London on the outbreak of deadly Cholera in 1848. This disease affected the
poor, the rich, and the noble, it had a huge impact on the city because everyone
needed water but feared it had the bacteria. To prevent later outbreaks of Cholera,
industries had to be precautious on where they threw their waste.
The king of killers during the industrial revolution was Tuberculosis. As
Oxford Journals said in an article; Tuberculosis nearly killed ⅓ of the industrial
cities population between 1800-1850. Since Tuberculosis affects the lungs, you
could get the disease by simply inhaling the air a person that carries the disease
has exhaled, that made the industrial cities, that were highly populated, very
vulnerable to getting Tuberculosis. To prevent Tuberculosis people started being
more hygienic, avoiding close spaces and trying to avoid industrial gases.
The smallpox was a common, well known disease that was very common in
the Industrial revolution. It was transmitted by physical contact, and by air. It was
really easy to get it because by a slight touch, you could get sick. It sickened
mostly adults. The symptoms were not recognized during the first week, by the