One of the oldest and most commonly held beliefs about the spread of disease was a practice known as “miasma theory.”

关于疾病的传播，最古老和最普遍持有的信念之一是一种被称为“瘴气理论”的东西。

Not long before the Crimean War, miasma theory had become so widely accepted that the British government actually approved a plan to drain sewage into drinking water, because that would be less harmful than letting it pong on the surface.

在克里米亚战争前不久，瘴气理论被广泛接受，以至于英国政府批准了一项将污水排入饮用水的计划，因为这样比让污水在地面上散发更无害。