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The Spread Of The Cholera Epidemic In Montreal

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Cholera was a feared disease that attacked a range of countries from every part of the world. It brought about a sense of horror due to its horrendous symptoms and relatively high mortality rate. This fear was no less apparent for the inhabitants of Philadelphia especially after reports were written about towns such as Montreal and Quebec. One particular report written by the “Commission” (Samuel Jackson, Chas. D. Meigs, and Richard Harlan) and appointed by the “Sanitary Board of the City Councils” had a purpose of providing information about the cholera epidemic in Canada for the inhabitants of Philadelphia. The authors used the help of physicians and Boards of Health from various towns to discern the impact of the epidemic. Many groups of individuals were affected by the disease, specifically the English, immigrants, and the Canadians (French Canadians and Lower Canadians). The English were known to maintain the customs they brought from their country which focused on “a good …show more content…

Even though the government of Montreal was aware of the cholera epidemic that was occurring in other towns, the Board of Health was too late in establishing preventative sanitary measures in order to ensure the safety of the inhabitants. There was a lack of measures enforced that dealt with the “cleansing of the city, the removal of nuisances, the accommodation of the emigrants,” and other measures to alleviate the spread of the disease. By knowing how the Board of Health of Montreal dealt with the disease and what little was done beforehand to contain it, Philadelphia was able to create measures that could prevent the disease from spreading. For example, whenever the beginning stages of the disease were apparent, there would be prompt medical assistance made

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