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John Snow has become one of the most famous figures in the history of public healh and epidemiology as a result of his work on cholera and his association with the removal of the Broad Street pump during the Soho cholera outbreak of early September 1854. He is also noted as one of the pioneers of anaesthesia having administered choroform to Queen Victoria during her last two births. A fictional reconstruction of an interview with John Snow is available here. In it Annalisa is used to explore at what point during the cholera outbreak Snow should have acted. .
Cholera Deaths (minimise)
Scientific Respect (maximise)
Recommend immediate removal of pump handle
Wait until more scientific evidence available
The slides (taken from the article) show that wih Snow's imagined  Ratings on 1 and 6 September equal weightings would have made 'Wait' the best decision on 1 September and the choice would have been a tossup on 6 September. A much higher weighting to Cholera Deaths would have been necessay to make action optimal on the 1st but only a slighly greater one on 6 September. He acted on the 7th and the pump was diabled on the 8th.
download alt file for 1 September 1854 download alt file for 6 September 1854
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