Then and Now: Disease Hand Out


Choose one of the following diseases that accounted for the high mortality rate in 1900


  • Pneumonia
  • Tuberculosis
  • Diarrhea/enteritis
  • Cholera
  • Influenza
  • Smallpox
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Measles
  • Rubella
  • Tetanus
  • Diphtheria
  • Syphilis
  • Gonorrhea


Research the disease to find out more about it then prepare a report and class discussion that includes:


  1. What are the physical symptoms of the disease?

  2. Describe the history and origins of the disease.

  3. Where and when was the disease prevalent?

  4. What were the risks that people took to avoid this disease?

  5. How was the disease spread?

  6. How and when was the disease brought under control?

  7. Who found a cure?

  8. What is the cure?

  9. Has the disease been wiped out?

  10. Is the disease a public health issue today?
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