Final answer:
The 5th-11th International Sanitary Conferences from 1881 to 1903 covered topics such as the control of diseases like cholera, sanitation, and quarantine regulations, as well as the significant public health improvements and legislative actions of that time.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the 5th-11th International Sanitary Conferences, held from 1881 to 1903, the primary focus was on the containment and prevention of contagious diseases such as cholera. Representatives from different countries came together to discuss public health issues, the geographic origins of diseases, and how to best control outbreaks. The topics ranged from sanitation, quarantine regulations, and medical discoveries that contributed to public health, like the process of chlorination in handwashing, which led to a remarkable decrease in mortality rates in hospitals as shown by historical data.
The relevance of these conferences was underscored by the fact that governments and health reformers sought to improve sanitation and healthcare during the rapid urbanization of the nineteenth century. Initiatives like Britain's Public Health Act and the construction of modern sewer systems, as in London after the cholera outbreak of 1848, represented early responses to health crises. Additionally, the ground-breaking work of pioneers like John Snow, who through epidemiological studies linked cholera to contaminated water sources, played a crucial role in shifting the understanding of disease transmission beyond the miasma theory and towards more scientific explanations.