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Taking a Look at Tuberculosis

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Tuberculosis has been known since ancient times, under a variety of names in different historical periods. It has been confused with certain other disease, but its basic nature, namely, its wasting effect and its destructive character, has always been recognized. Until very recently it was known as the number-one killer of the human race. Men and women at all stages of life, but primarily between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five were subject to the disease. The infectious nature of Tuberculosis came to be recognized in early historical times. The prevailing view varied greatly with different people, depending on their beliefs and state of civilization, as usual, the wrath of the gods was brought into the picture as the proper explanation for the disease.
Tuberculosis flourishes rarely in high altitudes, so many people sent patients with Tuberculosis to higher altitudes to try and combat the disease. Around 1880, a movement began called The Sanatorium Movement. This movement was an attempt to naturally cure Tuberculosis with fresh air, rest and a quiet environment. Those who fell with the disease were often separated from the rest of the society and placed in a Sanatorium. Many people nicknamed sanatoriums the “waiting rooms for death”. In the early 1900s around 12,000 people were estimated to have Tuberculosis in Virginia which was the highest infection rate in the United States. In 1908 the Virginia Anti-Tuberculosis League and the State Board of Health opened the first

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