Victorian John Snow proved cholera was water-borne disease [10min @10:12]

Award-winning journalist Andrew Marr starts the week by discussing Victorian John Snow, who proved cholera was a water-borne disease, with writer Steven Johnson. In late August 1854 a virulent outbreak of cholera struck Soho in London which would eventually lead to a countrywide epidemic that would kill 50,000 men, women and children in England and Wales. This was not all that unusual in Victorian Britain, where cholera epidemics were a regular occurrence. What made this epidemic so singular is that it would help provide two men with the answers to the cause of this brutal killer and, in turn, would pave the way for the creation of the modern city. The writer Steven Johnson has written a study of the 1854 outbreak and the battle by the doctor John Snow to prove that cholera was a water-borne disease. The Ghost Map: A Street, An Epidemic and the Two Men Who Battled to Save Victorian London is published by Allen Lane. Steven is also appearing with musician and music theorist Brian Eno at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts tonight at 6.45pm. Joining the discussion are writer Steven Johnson, scientist Robert Winston and novelist Lorraine Adams. For a longer interview with writer Steven Johnson on BBC Radio 3"Night Waves", Mon 4 Dec 06, click here.