


Saturday, February 4, 2012

The Secret Garden Part VI

As most of you know by now, poor Mary Lennox was sent to live with her uncle Archibald Craven in the Yorkshire Moors of England. Her parents, Rose and Albert Lennox, as well as her ayah and fakir were killed by a cholera infection when it spread throughout India.  In fact everyone she knew in their English compound in Bombay were killed. Her father was stationed in the British military there. Her mother's will stated that she would go live with Archibald if the unthinkable would happen to her them.

It did.

This Sixth Cholera Pandemic killed more than 800,000 people in India before it broke out in northern Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and in Russia. As it's name implies, this was the sixth major outbreak of this easily transmitted disease. What we know know is that it is spread by a bacterium Vibiro Cholerae, mainly through contamination of water or food. In the developed world seafood is the usual cause, while in other parts of the earth it is found more often in water.

Did you know that if you fold an Indian sari multiple times to create a simple sieve, you can use it to strain the water? Folding them four to eight times may create a way to reduce the amount of active V.cholera in the water that was filtered.

A Seventh cholera pandemic occurred from 1961 through the 1970's and has continued, though diminished, up to recent times. In 1991 there were 570,000 reported cases.

Through this tragedy Mary changed the lives and hopes of all in Misselthwait, Archibald's English manor.

Next week: The moors of Yorkshire.

Visit Part I Here

Visit Part II Here
Visit Part III Here
Visit Part IV Here
Visit Part V Here
Visit the Audition information Here