Medicine - Public health: problems, 1350 - 1750

Between 1350 and 1750, problems with public health provision increased as towns and cities were getting bigger

Problems

• Rubbish, dead animals and human and animal excrement were dumped on streets and left there
• Rivers were often polluted and there was little clean water. Most people drank ale instead of water
• Poor sanitation caused health problems. Sewage often contaminated water

Infectious disease

• Outbreaks of infectious disease between 1350 and 1750 were frequent and deadly, partly because of poor public health
• Local authorities tried several methods to deal with them, but they had little success because they didn't understand what caused disease
• During the 1665 plague in…