Artifact 7
Corey Johnston
3/31/19
BI-245X-01
Tuberculosis: The Forgotten Plague
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that is lethal if left untreated. According to Irwin Sherman, “tuberculosis is not only an infectious disease, but a societal one as well.” Unfortunately, millions of people have died due to the continual spread of this disease, and if matters aren’t treated more seriously, this disease will continue to take its toll on society, particularly in poor countries. In poor countries, with limited resources, risk of contracting TB is substantially high. Without the proper medical supplies, drugs, and sanctuary that hospitals give, contracting tuberculosis will be deadly. It will spread from person to person, and won’t back down. This is the unfortunate truth people in this world must realize. Without educating poor countries of this disease and up-regulating medical spending and research, tuberculosis will continue to cause devastation in places around the world.
In the 1800s, in Western Europe, people believed that those with tuberculosis were beautiful and erotic. It is believed that tuberculosis produces a sense of euphoria, increased appetite, and a strong sexual desire. It led to “extreme thinness, long neck and hands, shining eyes, pale skin, and red cheeks. All of this stigma behind the unknown disease increased TB’s spread through western Europe. Little was understood at the time and these people drowned in their own blood because of this disease.
In the 19thcentury, as immigration to the United States had begun to boom, so did the “boom” of TB. Improper use of ventilation systems allowed for TB to take a huge spread in urban areas. “As more and more impoverished immigrants arrived in the United States, they were forced to live crowded together in these miserable tenements.” These places usually housed about 8 to 10 people and in filthy conditions. The lack of ventilation helped the spread of pulmonary TB in the United States. Much of this spread however was placed on the Jews and was used as an anti-Semitism tool to justify the spread of the disease. Many Jews were poor, malnourished, and living in terribly crowded spaces and so many of these people became infected with this disease and were put to blame.
Later in the century, it was found that the microbes that cause this disease are called mycobacteria. It is an opportunistic infection, meaning it takes advantage of certain poor health situations of its host, e.g., people with AIDS. People who have contracted AIDS, are at higher risk of this disease and it becomes very hard to treat at that point. As a treatment method, people were isolated from their families in order to recover and prevent the spread. At a minimum, people are isolated for 6 months, and could be treated for up to several years. Because of being isolated, and the feeling of being outcasted from the community, there became a social stigma with developing tuberculosis. People soon began to not want to get treated because of the fear of being an outcast or isolated from all family members and friends. The consequence to this is that it led to the continual spread of this silent disease.
Also, as TB continues to spread and drugs are made to stop this spread, the disease became clever and developed a drug resistance and demolished any hope of being treated. These diseases emerged, as treatments became available and used to save many. They emerged in order to remain alive and viable. Just as people develop certain antibodies for diseases, diseases mutate in order to survive, as did TB. There are two types of drug resistant TB. The first is MDR-TB, multi-drug resistant TB. This disease requires more drugs to cure the patient, a lot of times resulting in death and other complications. The second is the more severe case, called XDR-TB, or extensively drug-resistant TB. This disease offers little hope of a cure, and the justification for many, of feeling hopeless, and that no person wants to spend a life with them.
Tuberculosis, as well as its drug resistant strains, require the attention of many to conquer the disease. In order to achieve a TB “free” world, there needs to be a greater attention to the struggle. People in poor countries can neither access nor afford medical aid for this disease. Also, preventative care is not even offered in “high-burden countries”. Thirdly, research and development is severely underfunded. Lastly, this situation needs to be taken seriously by political figures and financial investors if any of this is going to take place. The priority needs to be a person and family-centered service to all who have contracted this disease so that spreading this disease is halted. This strategy is plausible, and if people want to stop the unfortunate truth that this disease offers, then steps need to be taken in order to save the lives of millions.