Cholera doctors in Malmö

in Swedish

Cholera doctors

• Elias Ekeroth, 1817-1850.
  Chief physician from Östergötland
• Claes Johan Kjellman, 1827-1853
  Cholera doctor from Västergötland
• Göthe Thomé, 1820- 1850
  Chief physician from Skåne

They all died in cholera

Cholera was a scourge of cities right up until modern times. Overcrowding, poor hygiene and a lack of knowledge about how the disease originated made it difficult to control. It was often when sewage, through ignorance, carelessness or flooding, came into contact with drinking water that the population were infected by the cholera bacteria.

Malmö's water supply at the time was probably above standard. From the water reservoir at Pildammarna , the water went through pipes made of hollow oak trunks, all the way to the well on Stortorget (IDstory). From here, the large houses got their water through branches of the water system. Other households had to get their water directly from the well or from their own dug wells. When the cholera bacteria got into the water system, people got diarrhea. In the case of prolonged illness, the body simply dried out and many people died.

Why did the doctors die?

The entire prevention of infection could consist of smoking during a home visit! People did not wash before, after or between patients and they spread the bacteria rather than cure the disease..

Cholera is found everywhere in tropical countries, but Europe has also been affected. Naples as recently as the 1970s. Cholera came to Sweden in 1834-73 when epidemics broke out on nine occasions. The largest was in 1834 when more than 25,000 people fell ill. Just over half died. In Landskrona there was a severe Cholera epidemic in Landskrona 1853 (IDstory) and in that IDstory there is a fascinating story about what was known at the time about cholera, its spread and cause.

Gravesite at Gamla kyrkogården (IDstory)
which is next to Gustav Adolfs Torg (IDstory).

References

• About BiBB, a media company and an encyclopedia 4.0
• Vad är kolera?, Wikipedia
• Rödsot, kallas idag oftast Dystenteri. Wikipedia
• UNICEF, fakta om vatten och sanitet
• Text: Christian Kindblad | photo: Jonas Andréasson

Published: 2004.06 Updated: 2025.05.28

Kategorier 20 Historical persons 45 Malmö 44

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