Epidemiology
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The three major historical events in environmental epidemiology
Environmental epidemiology is among the disciplines that tend to look into the foundational questions concerning the role played by environmental exposures in human health (Vineis, 2018). The field follows its history back from the period of Hippocrates and previous research on occupational cancer back towards the end of the 18th century. Similarly, Snow’s investigation of the outbreak of cholera in London in the 19th century is historically important.
Hippocrates
This is traced back to the 400BC when the great Hippocrates of the Greek authority gave a further explanation on the impact of environmental factors for example quality of water as well are the air in the causation of cancer.
Sir Percival Pott
Sir Percival Pott who was a surgeon in London happens to be very important in the environmental epidemiology history because he is believed to be the pioneer of describing environmental cancer causation.
John Snow
John Snow was an English anesthesiologist in the mid-1800s. He happened to link the outbreak of cholera in London to the waters of Thames River that were contaminated. John’s strategy for the investigation of the cholera outbreak in 1849 was called natural experiment and this method is currently used in the research of environmental health issues.
Which environmental hazard, such as the pollutant or pollutants, caused the most adverse health outcomes and why?
John Snow suggested that the sewage was responsible for contamination of the water that was related to the outbreak of cholera in London. Snow performed a natural experiment to show the cause of the cholera outbreak in the district of Soho (Fine, 2015). During the time of John among the explanations given for infectious diseases like cholera was the miasmic theory of disease that suggested that diseases were caused by clouds of noxious matter. The snow was against the Miasmatic theory and illustrated the relationship between cholera and polluted water.
What are the various adverse health outcomes that occurred as a result of exposure to the environmental hazard?
The adverse health outcomes included many people in the district being ill and most terribly resulting in the death of 616 people. This was an adverse impact that called for interventions to prevent such incidences in the future. The diseases led to a massive loss in London in that period.
What are the steps that were taken to prevent adverse health outcomes from occurring? Should there be any other step that was necessary to prevent adverse health outcomes? Explain.
After John Snow discovered that the main cause of the cholera outbreak was germ-contaminated water and not the air particles, the public had was influenced to put in some measures to prevent the occurrence from happening. The measures included constructing improved sanitation in the city in the 19th century (Fine, 2015). Another measure was investing in research to identify the conditions that are conducive for disease infection to alter them. Other steps would have been the promotion of health campaigns to promote a clean environment.
Suggest ways to prevent future occurrences of such episodes.
I suggest that governments should invest a lot in policy development and regulations when it comes to environmental conservation and sanitation where penalties should be directed to individuals, groups, or companies that tend to compromise the environmental safety that exposes human beings to adverse health effects.
Is there an association between environmental hazards and adverse health outcomes in humans? Why or why not?
Yes. There is a direct association of environmental hazards especially pollutants with adverse health outcomes in humans. This is because, in the ecosystem, members depend on each other. The environment has a role to play to the well-being of human beings and human beings have a role to play in the sustainability of the environment.
Analyze and explain the exposure-disease relationship for each of these three events.
From the three historic events, it is evident that there is a direct relationship between exposure and the disease. If people are exposed to conditions that are causative agents, then the disease will have its effects on the lives of people.
Reference
Fine, P. (2015). Another defining moment for epidemiology. The Lancet, 385(9965), 319-320.
Vineis, P. (2018). From John Snow to omics: the long journey of environmental epidemiology. European journal of epidemiology, 33(4), 355-363.