ABSTRACT
Medical advancements at the Fin De Siècle enabled the eradication of a number of diseases. New understandings of how disease was spread through bacterial infections led to the development of programmes of immunisation which saw, at least in the West, the end of once fatal diseases such as scarlet fever, yellow fever, diphtheria, tuberculosis and syphilis. While the major medical advancements of the day took place in Europe and North America, there was also a strong interest in the claims of alternative medicine that had links to Asian cultures. In addition, it is important to note that medical developments were shaped by very significant non-medical factors, such as the population growth in cities and the expansion of colonial trade routes which led to immunisation programmes against tropical diseases – even while the presence of traders, officials and mission-aries often led to the spread of Western diseases to indigenous peoples, frequently with devastating consequences.
