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Disease And Water Supply: The Case Of Cholera In 19th Century Iran, Amir A. Afkhami

Medicine Faculty Publications

This paper explores why Iran was a particularly fertile ground for repeated visitation of cholera in the 19th century. Along with certain unique Iranian cultural and religious factors, the author demonstrates how Iranian urban ecology, particularly the qanat system, contributed to the fatal spread of the epidemic. These multi-faceted conditions, the author concludes, resulted in distinct modes of disease transmission and mortality in Iran.