This information table is included in the correspondence and papers of the Central Board of Health, which was re-called to deal with a cholera epidemic in 1831. Catalogue ref: PC 1/114.
| Cases | Deaths | Recoveries | Deaths per Cent | Recoveries per Cent | |
| Calomel and Opium | 196 | 112 | 84 | 57.4 | 42.86 |
| Opium | 81 | 47 | 34 | 58 | 42 |
| Calomel | 75 | 35 | 40 | 46.66 | 53.34 |
| Stimulants | 63 | 42 | 21 | 66.66+ | 33.33+ |
| Combination of Salts
proposed by Dr Stevens |
25 | 22 | 3 | 88 | 12 |
| Combination of Salts
used at Greville Street Hospital |
26 | 8 | 18 | 30.77 | 69.23 |
| Venous Injection | 20 | 18 | 2 | 90 | 10 |
| Miscellaneous | 17 | 8 | 9 | 47.06 | 52.94 |
Note: Calomel is a type of mercury chloride, used as drug to empty the bowels.
- What is information is recorded in this table?
- Why do you think the Central Board of Health collected this information?
- Does the source tell us anything about the role of the Central Board of Health?
- What are the limitations of this source for providing us with information about treatments for cholera?
- Does this table show any understanding about the cause of the disease in 1830s?
- Is the evidence provided by this document more or less valuable than the cartoon which is used at the top of the web page for this lesson?