Disease in Retreat
After experiencing the squalor of Victorian Leeds, find out how scientific discoveries helped us to understand disease and revolutionise medicine.
In the early 1800s no-one really knew what caused disease. One theory was ‘miasmas’ or bad air; another was the poison generated by a sick person. Perhaps illness was due to an immoral lifestyle, or simply an act of God.
Later in the century scientists realised that microscopic organisms, or ‘germs’ were responsible for illness. Gradually, scientists also worked out how disease was transmitted from one person to another.
The discovery of vaccines, antibiotics and other drugs has made working treatments a reality. Today, few of us have to worry about the illnesses that were once Britain’s greatest killers.
See just what made modern medicine possible in this brilliant exhibition.
