Good morning. As you know, I'm Dr. Alan Farragut. In 1854, London experienced a terrible cholera outbreak. Local doctors attributed the epidemic to miasma, or "bad air". And they responded to it by burning incenses and promoting the sale of fragrant flowers.
Not, as you might imagine, terribly helpful to the 600 or so who died of the disease. But a doctor and a clergyman mapped out the victims, and this was the very first epidemiological study. What they found was a cluster of cases around Broad Street, where there was a city water pump. Defying the local authorities, they did the unthinkable.
They took off the handle.
And the outbreak came to an end, but the lesson lives on. And so, unfortunately, does cholera.
[throws a vial at Lindsey, who catches it out of reflex]
When a surgeon fumbles, a patient dies. When we drop the ball, thousands die. As new CDC field officers, you are about to embark on a mission to the far corners of the earth. And you will witness horrors others cannot imagine. Horrors that make cholera seem tame. You will make sacrifices that others find unthinkable. And your family and your friends will sacrifice right along with you. And you will do all of this because you cannot fathom living any other life. This is no game. The stakes are very real.
...That's just scotch in there, by the way, single malt. In fact, toss it back. Good luck to you all.
Not, as you might imagine, terribly helpful to the 600 or so who died of the disease. But a doctor and a clergyman mapped out the victims, and this was the very first epidemiological study. What they found was a cluster of cases around Broad Street, where there was a city water pump. Defying the local authorities, they did the unthinkable.
They took off the handle.
And the outbreak came to an end, but the lesson lives on. And so, unfortunately, does cholera.
[throws a vial at Lindsey, who catches it out of reflex]
When a surgeon fumbles, a patient dies. When we drop the ball, thousands die. As new CDC field officers, you are about to embark on a mission to the far corners of the earth. And you will witness horrors others cannot imagine. Horrors that make cholera seem tame. You will make sacrifices that others find unthinkable. And your family and your friends will sacrifice right along with you. And you will do all of this because you cannot fathom living any other life. This is no game. The stakes are very real.
...That's just scotch in there, by the way, single malt. In fact, toss it back. Good luck to you all.
