During the 19th Century, the United States of America had an average life expectancy of about forty years old (Source 1). Today, that number has almost doubled to 79 (Source 2). Although there are numerous factors that may have contributed to this drastic increase in life spans, advances in medicine most definitely played a big role. Numerous diseases have been eradicated or are very close to being eradicated thanks developed vaccines, advanced research, better education, and improved safety. These aspects of medicine are similar to a domino effect: research prompts to 7the improved and more complex education of medical personnel, as well as for the development of safe, functioning vaccines and other medicines to help heal the sick. Throughout…show more content… Cholera, a disease that spreads easily through water, was responsible for numerous outbreaks in the country. This is a disease that causes severe vomiting and diarrhea which leads to extreme dehydration and later death (Source 5). It spreads easily because its bacteria lives freely in plankton and bacteria and therefore is easy to contract when coming in contact with water. (Source 6). In the 1800’s, people would use water from streams, rivers, oceans for daily life such as drinking, bathing, and agriculture and many died from contracting cholera. This is why most cholera outbreaks occurred in cities located on the coasts or near rivers. The biggest outbreak that the US ever suffered through was the mutated Asiatic Cholera that started spreading in 1817 and slowly spread west until if finally reached the West Coast by 1831. In 1832-1833, many Eastern port cities were struck by cholera once again, with a few thousand people dying. Unfortunately, the disease did not stop there. It came back to cause more epidemic outbreaks in 1848 and once again in 1865, killing thousands more (Source 7). Sad but true, cholera took many lives during the 19th
