public health Archives - British Society for the History of Medicine

Plague Houses and Pandemics – Some comparisons between 1665 and 2020

Lee Coppack — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 20:32:53 +0000

Charles ll issued an edict in 1665 that every parish should identify a shed, a tent or a house to accommodate those identified with the plague. Alison Wall looks at the role of such isolation in times of pandemic. Plague, pest or pestilence houses – the terms can be used interchangeably – were buildings set […]

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One-way systems to keep patients separate

Lee Coppack — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 14:14:56 +0000

The Corona virus pandemic prevention measures were not the first one-way system in British health care, as William Evans explains. One feature of the measures imposed or encouraged by the UK government to stop Corona virus spreading was one-way systems for human traffic. In premises such as doctor’s surgeries, one-way systems aimed to reduce close […]

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Recycling Penicillin from Urine in Post-War Germany

Lee Coppack — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 14:53:45 +0000

Limited supplies of penicillin and Allied restrictions on German access to the drug in the immediate aftermath of World War II led to its recovery from the urine of treated patients. Susanne Krejsa MacManus explains. German research on penicillin started only in 1942 and then on a very small scale.[1] Gerhard Domagk (1895-1964), the German […]

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Being right is not enough

Lee Coppack — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 10:36:15 +0000

Scientific debate can be soured by the tendency for evangelical pioneers to see any questioning as opposition bordering on evil. Their aggressive attitude can delay innovation, a lesson perhaps for our own times and a reason for studying history, says Mike Davidson. My wife and I saw the production “Dr Semmelweis” at the Bristol […]

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There is death in the pot

Edward Wawrzynczak — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 12:35:47 +0000

On the bicentenary of chemist Freidrich Accum, J.D. Dayan and A.D. Dayan discuss how his public-health legacy to expose ‘food adulteration’ has been largely forgotten… The essential importance of using new scientific discoveries in the public interest is a belief that has long been preached, but few have had the drive and understanding to put […]

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Poems and Pandemics in the Plague Village

Edward Wawrzynczak — Tue, 26 May 2020 16:38:13 +0000

Simon Armitage’s newly released poem, ‘Lockdown‘, recalls the Eyam plague of 1665/6, effectively evoking feelings that reverberate in our current situation, and remind us that we are not the first to find ourselves in such a position. In Lockdown, the Poet Laureate touches on some of the most notable features of the story. ‘Thimbles brimmed […]

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Herd Immunity – what’s in a name?

Edward Wawrzynczak — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 12:29:32 +0000

“Herd immunity” recently made a controversial appearance in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. What does the phrase mean, where did it come from, and how helpful is it today? As of March 2020, the OED defines it as, “resistance to the spread of a contagious disease within a population that results if a […]

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Tuberculosis, Philately and the history of the ‘Christmas seal’

Edward Wawrzynczak — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 12:28:42 +0000

Christmas has long been recognised as a time of charity and fundraising. Perhaps familiar to some is the ‘Christmas seal’ – a label placed on post over the Christmas period – to raise awareness and funds for charitable organisations. Christmas seals fall into a category known as ‘cinderella stamps’: items that resemble stamps but cannot […]

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