Tuberculosis in the Victorian Era
Tuberculosis has been one of the most fatal diseases since the beginning of history. However, it was especially dangerous during the Victorian Era. All Victorians experienced the distress of tuberculosis in some way, making it a tremendous problem for society at the time. The eternal search for an effective, absolute cure of this dreaded disease has lasted for centuries, from the Ancient Egyptians on the Nile, to modern times. Nevertheless, several crucial leaps were made in the medical field during the Victorian Era that helped to curb the toll of tuberculosis on society.
Tuberculosis is a potentially lethal, contagious disease, mainly caused by a bacterium known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, or Mtb. This
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During this time, a myriad of new factories and job opportunities, in addition to quicker transportation, in cities helped instigate a massive movement of the global human population from farms and rural villages to large urban cities such as London, England, which created an explosive population growth and an enormous overcrowding issue, especially in Europe and the United States. Many of these newcomers couldn’t afford a high rent, so they lived as tenants in congested rookeries and slums with poor ventilation and sanitation, the perfect breeding ground for tuberculosis. Overcrowded cities posed another problem too. More people leads to more crime which leads to prisons with horrible conditions: “[Prisons] were soon packed wall to wall with prisoners, often eight to ten convicts to each small, windowless cell … Half of all prisoners in England’s Chatham Naval Prison died of [tuberculosis] every year between 1870 and 1880” (Murphy 25). These non-ventilated, packed prisons were another ideal place for tuberculosis to flourish. The lack of hygiene in prisons and poor districts of the city substantially increased both tuberculosis infection rates and fatality rates. The cause of one in seven deaths in Europe during the late 1800s, tuberculosis was one of the most distressing illnesses throughout the Victorian Era …show more content…
Tuberculosis is spread from person to person through droplet infection. In other words, when an active victim coughs, they eject millions of tiny infected aerosol droplets of sputum into the air, and when another person breathes in the Mtb, the bacteria nestle in the lungs, make themselves at home, and immediately begin multiplying. Contrary to popular belief, although tuberculosis is contagious, it is not as highly contagious as compared to other infectious diseases. Around one in three close contacts, mainly immediate family and intimate friends, and one in ten remote contacts of an infected individual, consequently became infected as well, through exposure to contaminated air (Tuberculosis). This nature of tuberculosis often caused tragedies in households, killing off entire families at a time, since the most frequent visitors were
Let’s take a journey back in time! We are always advancing in our thoughts and the ways we do things. What better way to get a glimpse into the past by creating a time capsule? Between 1763 and 1775 tension between the American colonies and Great Britain eventually erupted into war. I have included five artifacts to better understand the historical events of this time period. They include a map of the proclamation line of 1763, wampum belt, a teapot, cartoon about the stamp act, and Tricorn hat.
Tuberculosis is caused by the bacteria “Mycobacterium Tuberculosis” and is mainly causes infection of the lungs (WHO, 2016). Its mode of transmission is airborne, so it can be passed on by inhalation of airborne droplets which carrying the bacteria, when an infected patient coughs, sneezes, or spits the TB germs into the air (WHO, 1026). Among the symptoms of active TB are: cough with sputum and blood, chest pains, weakness, fever and night sweats (WHO, 2016). Most at risk to get the TB infection are people with weakened immune system such as people who are suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, severe kidney disease, silicosis and especially HIV infection (CDC, 2016). Children and Tobacco users are also at greater risk to fall ill with TB.
While tuberculosis was never completely eliminated, there was a significant drop in cases and death rates, as a result of the BCG vaccine and new anti-tubercular drugs in the 1950’s.
Tuberculosis is a disease of an infectious nature caused by a bacterium known as mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease spreads through the air. People with the disease can spread it to susceptible people through coughing, sneezing, talking or spitting. It mainly affects the lungs and other parts such as the lymph nodes and kidneys can also be affected. The symptoms for TB are fatigue, coughing, night sweats, weight loss and fever. One third of the population of the world is affected with mycobacterium tuberculosis. The rate of infection is estimated to be one person per second. About 14 million people in the world are infected with active tuberculosis. Drug resistant TB has been recorded to be a serious public health hazard in many countries. Resistant strains have developed making it difficult to treat the disease. TB has caused millions of death mainly in people living with HIV/AIDS ADDIN EN.CITE Ginsberg19981447(Ginsberg, 1998)1447144717Ginsberg, Ann M.The Tuberculosis Epidemic: Scientific Challenges and OpportunitiesPublic Health Reports (1974-)Public Health Reports (1974-)128-13611321998Association of Schools of Public Health00333549http://www.jstor.org/stable/4598234( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_3" o "Ginsberg, 1998 #1447" Ginsberg, 1998). The World Health Organization came up with the DOTS (Directly Observed, Therapy, Short course) strategy. The approach involves diagnosing cases and treating patients with drugs for about 6-8
“Tuberculosis (TB), a multisystem disease with myriad presentations and manifestations, is the most common cause of infectious disease–related mortality worldwide. Although TB rates are decreasing in the United States, the disease is becoming more common in many parts of the world. In addition, the prevalence of drug-resistant TB is increasing worldwide. TB is caused by M tuberculosis, a slow-growing obligate aerobe and a facultative intracellular parasite. The organism grows in parallel groups called cords (as seen in the image below). It retains many
During my visit at the Art Institute of Chicago this quarter, a popular and interesting piece of artwork that spoke to me in ways that no other artwork did was the, “Tarquin and Lucretia” by Tintoretto or the artist known as Jacopo Robusti. Tintoretto is also known as the one of the most well-known Italian Renaissance artists and became interested in painting at a very young age. This specific piece of artwork was originally created by Tintoretto during 1578 through 1580 and is an oil painting on a canvas. It has approximate size measurements of 68’ 7/8” by 59’ 5/8” and is classified as an Italian work of art. This painting takes place in ancient Roman times where the figure that is somewhat laying down represents Lucretia, who is the wife of an honest man named Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus (“Stories and Histories - The Rape of Lucretia”, 2016). The other figure that is directly behind Lucretia is Sextus Tarquinius or Tarquin, who is her rapist and the son of a dictatorial Roman king named Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Subsequently after her rape, Lucretia tells her husband and father about the incident. In order to save herself from the guilt and misrepresentation of her reputation, she stabs herself to death (“Stories and Histories - The Rape of Lucretia”, 2016). In the article titled, “Illicit Arousal: The Erotic Subtext of Tintoretto 's Tarquin and Lucretia” within The Journal of the History of Art by Sabrina DeTurk, it is stated that Lucretia is seen to be “a moral
Originally known as consumption and/or phthisis pulmonaris, evidence of TB has existed in the form of ancient writings from ancient Egypt. Furthermore, the organism causing tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) has existed for approximately 15,000 to 20,000 years. Despite the origins of tuberculosis dating back for ages, tuberculosis did not fully reach a critical epidemic status until the 18th and 19th centuries, when nearly one-tenth of the population died as a result of many factors, “Poorly ventilated and overcrowded housing, primitive sanitation, malnutrition and other factors led to the rise [of tuberculosis]” (Mandal 1). Ultimately, the horrendous atmosphere of Victorian England completely influenced the inevitable impact of tuberculosis as it led to significant symptoms and then the unhurried discovery of tuberculosis treatment. As a result, the view towards tuberculosis in the Victorian Era fundamentally changed. Meanwhile, tuberculosis emerged and did not spare anyone as famous English citizens including Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Frederic Chopin all succumbed to the deadly disease.
How did Tuberculosis impact the U.S in the 19th century? While people were worried about the Spanish Flu, and other illnesses in the 1900’s, bacteria was building up in people's lungs. If their immune system couldn’t get rid of the bacteria, it began to multiply and caused Tuberculosis. In the U.S one out of every seven people got Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis impacted the U.S in the 19th century dramatically.
In an era where we consider the improvement of technology as the key to overcoming most a finding of diseases. Tuberculosis disease has been in existence for years; the ancient plague of tuberculosis continues to spread throughout population and countries. Beyond any other infectious disease. “In 2013, 9 million people around the world became sick with TB disease. There were around 1.5 million TB-related deaths worldwide (Kim, Shakow, Castro, Vande, & Farmer, 2015).” With all the technology improvement and drugs we still struggle to manage this deadly disease. Between 18th and19th century tuberculosis spread and reaches its maximal growth in urban and industrial environment of the united states and Europe. During that time in the Western
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection, this bacterial is called Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. This bacteria can affect any part of the body but most commonly attacks the lungs. Different parts that gets attack are the kidney, spine, and brain. This bacterial infection can be contagious, most commonly spread by having constant contact with a person with the active infection. This infection can be deadly if not treated.
Tuberculosis was the most widespread public concern in the 19th and early 20th centuries as an endemic disease .According to World Health Organization Tuberculosis is infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. 24th March is celebrated as the world TB day to make the entire world. TB was diagnosed in modern medicine at the beginning of 19th century after the identification of mycobacterium by Robert Koch. But our Indian Systems of Medicine started treating this disease from 5000 BC by use of herbal drugs. TB was diagnosed in Ayurveda and Siddha systems of
This paper takes a journey of one person’s struggle to acquire skills that during the course of his life reached the pentacle of sound footing in a career as Director of Materials and Management for a local Mining Company. A brief overview of the concepts of transformational and authentic leadership and motivation of enabling others to act, thru fostering collaboration, creating a climate of trust, and facilitating relationships during this journey. Through this journey, key vision of concepts will allow individuals to develop a perception of implementation of action to incorporate added skills to apply in their quest to be more effective in leadership.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic bacterial infection that affects millions of people globally. It is a contagious disease that is spread through the air, and it usually affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person through droplets from the respiratory tract of those who are already infected with the disease. Some who are infected with the bacteria that causes TB often exhibit no symptoms, because their immune systems stop the bacteria from growing and multiplying. Those with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to developing the full blown disease which can cause symptoms that include coughing, spitting blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, and fever. Tuberculosis can be treated with a six to nine month course of a combination of antibiotics. If left untreated, TB will spread and can be fatal.
Tuberculosis is among the fatal diseases that are spread through the air. It’s contagious, meaning that it spreads from one infected individual to another, and at times it spreads very fast. In addition to being contagious, the disease is an opportunist infection as it takes advantage of those with weak defense mechanism, and especially the ones with terminal diseases like HIV and AIDS. Tuberculosis is therefore among the major concerns for the World Health Organization due to its contagious nature (World Health Organization 1).
Tuberculosis is common health problem that affects many people all around the world. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define Tuberculosis as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This particular bacterium attacks the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any area of the body. This disease was once the leading cause of death in the United States. TB is often spread through the air from person to person. CDC says “TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings” (“Basic TB Facts,” 2012). The three articles I have chosen to go into detail on are listed as follows, 1) Transmission of Multidrug-Resistant and Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis within Households: A prospective cohort study, 2) Preventing Infectious Pulmonary Tuberculosis Among Foreign-Born Residents of the United States, and 3) People-centered tuberculosis care versus standard directly observed therapy.