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15,000 to 20,000 Years Ago
Source The organism causing tuberculosis was discovered 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. It was found in artifacts from ancient Egypt, India, and China. In ancient Egypt, along mummies, spinal tuberculosis (Pott's Disease) was found. -
Period: 476 to Jan 1, 1500
Middle Ages Tuberculosis
source Evidence of tuberculosis of lymph nodes of the neck was found in the middle ages. It was widely believed that the kings of England and France could heal people simply by touching them. -
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18th Century Tuberculosis
source Tuberculosis reaches its peak. The prevalence was as high as 900 deaths per 100,000 people. Poorly ventilated houses, primitive sanitation, and malnutrition plus other risk factors helped cause this. White plague was the term around this time. -
Famous People Getting Tuberculosis
source Many celebrities suffered from diseases like John Keats, Edgar Allen Poe, and Frederic Chopin. -
Period: to
Isolation
source Concept of keeping tuberculosis patients isolated in a sanatorium started. -
isolate
source Hermann Brehmer started isolation in a sanatorium in Silelsia, and the idea caught on. -
Period: to
Vaccine
source Louis Pasteur made vaccines for chicken cholera and other diseases. -
Discoveries
source The causative organism of tuberculosis was shown by Robert Kock in 1882. He showed that the unique protein coat made it difficult to visualize until a specific stain, the Zeihl Neelson, was discovered. This bacteria was called Koch's bacillus and it took up the red acidic dye so it was called the acid fast bacilli (AFB). -
first sanatorium
source Edward Livingston Trudeau started the first sanatorium in the US. Infected people were isolated from the rest of the society and treated with a lot of rest and improved nutrition. -
X Rays
source Wilhelm Roentgen developed X rays which advanced diagnostics of tuberculosis. This allowed early diagnosis and isolation of infected individuals. -
National Tuberculosis Association and the American Lung Association
source The National Tuberculosis Association evolved into the American Lung Association in 1904. -
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More vaccines
source Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin created a vaccine called BCG, named after them. -
