CAREER PROFILE
Epidemiology – The Career You Probably Never Knew Existed By Cynthia Carr, Epidemiologist
A few months ago during a casual conversation, I was asked, “What do you do exactly?” This was not a unique question. I am an epidemiologist, and before this very challenging COVID-19 crisis, almost no one (including my parents) knew what I did. Unfortunately, the term epidemiology has become all too common due to COVID-19; however, on the plus side, maybe through this some of you will have discovered a new potential career in community health. Origins of Epidemiology
Epidemiology focuses on finding patterns of disease by looking at people, place and time. Everyone knows John Snow, right? No, not the hero from Game of Thrones… I mean Dr. John Snow, who is considered the “father of epidemiology”. In the 1800s, the infectious disease cholera became a major health threat, killing many people. There was a terrible outbreak in London, England, around 1854. People thought the disease was from the noxious-smelling air. But Dr. Snow
questioned why only people from a certain area of London were getting sick when the air smelled terrible everywhere in the city. He started to talk to people who were sick so that he could determine what they all had in common. He noticed they all lived or worked in the same area... and they all got their drinking water from the Broad Street Pump. The water in the pump looked and tasted just fine, but it carried the very dangerous parasite that caused cholera. His findings led to changes in water safety and sanitation around the world, saving millions of lives!
This is an example of a serious health risk that we cannot see or taste. Just like viruses such as COVID-19, they are difficult to deal with because people don’t know when or where they come in contact with them until they become infected or sick. 66 || CAREER CAREER DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT
Photos Cynthia Carr took in London (2019) of the original Broad Street Pump, cause of the cholera outbreak.
