A map of water pumps helped prove how diseases spread through cities
Physician John Snow revolutionized public health by using a detailed map of water pumps to prove that cholera was a waterborne disease rather than an airborne one.
John Snow, a pioneer of modern epidemiology, used data visualization to solve a deadly mystery during the 1854 cholera outbreak in London. By mapping the locations of deaths, he noticed a cluster around the Broad Street water pump. His statistics showed that residents using sewage-tainted water sources had death rates 14 times higher than those using cleaner water.
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