It’s true that tuberculosis is an infectious disease, but there are factors that make the transmission of this disease more likely. These other factors are completely based on society, making tuberculosis not only an infectious disease, but a societal one as well. The epidemic started in Europe during the 17th century. If you were infected with the disease, death was considered to be inevitable. The high population density and the poor sanitary conditions characterizing most European and North American cities created the perfect storm for the spread of tuberculosis.
By the beginning of the 19th century, death rates had begun to skyrocket. In both Europe and North America, death rates had reached 100,000 per year at that time. To add on to this issue, society’s overall mindset was not helping whatsoever. Due to TB’s prevalence, society started to romanticize it. The mindset even got to the point where the pallid faces of TB were considered to be especially attractive. Famous authors described TB cases in beautiful ways, which heavily influenced society to see TB in that “attractive” light.
In the mid-1800s, cities were heavily occupied by immigrants. The living conditions of these immigrants were heavily overcrowded, especially in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. Residents were especially susceptible to TB as well as other infections due to the poor working conditions and crowding in the tenements. The housing was most commonly dark, badly constructed, poorly lit, and completely filthy. In fact, about 18,000 people lived in cellar apartments with mud floors.
Eventually, society began to realize the problem that TB is, and started to take steps towards fighting the disease. In fact, spitting was completely outlawed in most places of the US. Many women even stopped wearing long dresses as they were afraid the bottoms of them would pick up spit and bring the germs home with them.