ABSTRACT
Cholera, typhoid fever, diphtheria and smallpox were greatly feared, outbreaks were not at all uncommon, cures were as yet unknown and medical science was struggling to find solutions. Infant mortality was high, particularly among poorer families. It was thought safer to drink beer than water. Modern sanitation, clean drinking water, better understanding of basic hygiene, a professional environmental health service and enforceable food standards have all contributed to the highest standards of public health ever enjoyed in UK. However, the recent outbreaks such as in Lanarkshire, South Wales and some open farms warn us that we dare not become complacent about the risks from these invisible potential killers. The 2009 vaccination programme to protect vulnerable groups against swine flu has recognised the risk of a global pandemic, possibly on the scale of the influenza outbreak at the end of the Great War that killed even more people than died in the trenches.
