Info on TB

Tuberculosis in the US was once a very dangerous disease, it was quoted as “The most fatal disease known to man” in the 1800’s and killed over 2,432 people within a period of three years (1885-1887).  Tuberculosis is most commonly a disease of the lungs, causing its victims to cough up large amounts of phlegm and blood. However on a more in depth look, Tuberculosis is a small swelling of the surface of the body or organ, and can cause sores to appear over the tissue of its victims. Tuberculosis was better known as consumption in the 1800’s, this name came from the ancient Greeks who called the disease “Consumption Phthisis,” specifically referring to pulmonary tuberculosis, with the earliest references to this being in 460 BC.

The word “tuberculosis” was coined by Johann Lukas Schönle in 1839, from the Latin “tuberculum,” meaning “small, swelling bump or pimple.” However it wouldn't be until 1882 when tuberculosis became the official name for consumption, thanks to the research of Dr. Robert Kochin who discovered the tubercle bacillus bacteria. The tubercle bacillus bacteria can be found in dried sputum.

Tuberculosis may seem like a disease of the past now that a cure has been made, however this isn’t the case at all. There are over eight million new cases of people contracting TB every year in the world; with about two million people per year dying from the disease. Tuberculosis has been in the americas since 100 AD. The microbes that cause the disease have been killing since at least 15,000-20,000 years, with known human deaths being caused by the bacteria dating back to at least as far as 5,000 years ago.

The number one reason for the high death rate of Tuberculosis back in the 1800’s was a lack of medical knowledge, and understanding of where the disease stemmed from mostly likely being; a lack of hygiene. For most of the 19th century, tuberculosis was thought to be a hereditary disease rather than a contagious one. Tuberculosis was also considered to be a sign of poverty, when on the contrary the disease can appear in any one. In Edgar Allan Poe’s case he was poor for most of his life, however even his foster mother Frances Allan, a considerably well off women, contracted the disease.

As stated earlier the tubercle bacillus bacteria lives in dried sputum or spit. Back in the 1800’s many people used handkerchiefs as a means of blowing their noses or other bodily fluids. If left unwashed long enough, these dried fluids could carry the bacteria and cause disease to run rampant. I firmly believe a lack of hygiene is the reason for such a high spread of TB during the 1800’s.  Now a day we have vaccines to prevent the spread of TB, making the illness seem almost like a mere cold; but to many back in the 1800’s tuberculosis was a tragic and incurable death sentence, and in many countries today it still is.