Tuberculosis: a social survey

Abstract

Tuberculosis is essentially a disease of civilization, which dates back to the earliest days of history. We see five great historical facts about the disease, (i) its antiquity, (ii) its recognition as a separate disease, (iii) its relation to type of diathesis, (iv) its infectivity and social danger and finally (v) the discovery of the cause. It is the social aspect or environment of the disease, which concerns us in this paper.