There’s a detailed accounting of the Cholera Epidemic of 1832 at the New-York Historical Society. The exhibition is titled, “Plague in Gotham! Cholera in Nineteenth-Century New York.” The New York Times has an in-depth article about this exhibition, including an accounting of how mapping by Dr. John Snow helped solve the problem.
After the work of Dr. Snow in London and a lesser cholera outbreak in New York in 1866, the Metropolitan Board of Health was established with doctors in commanding roles and broad powers to clean up the city. Inspectors went to houses and burned clothing of people who had just died. They cleared the filth, spread lime and instructed survivors in proper sanitation.
Cities had learned, or should have, that epidemics as a consequence of urbanization were their responsibility to prevent and control.
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It sounds like the Metropolitan Board of Health hadn’t yet bought in to the work of Snow and Whitehead, and still subscribed to the miasma theories.
David, thanks for pointing out The Ghost Map ( http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Map-Steven-Johnson/dp/1594489254) that details the work of Snow and Whitehead. I enjoyed the New York Times piece for its recounting of the theories of the day.