What is Tuberculosis? It is a fatal contagious disease that can affect any part of the body but mostly affects the lungs. Tuberculosis can be treated-yes it can be treated-but scientists are nowhere close to wiping this disease off our planet like that of small pox, that has "n" number of epidemics to its name. Tuberculosis has been known to humans almost from when we have evolved . Tuberculosis( TB for short) is suspected to have evolve from a human specific pathogen which is about 40,000 years back. In 2008, evidence for tuberculosis infection has been discovered in human remains from the Neolithic era dating from 9,000 years ago, in a settlement in the eastern Mediterranean[1]. Throughout history tuberculosis was refered by several names. Different names of tuberculosis and its history. Consumption: Generally called through most of history. Phthisis: Called in Ancient Greece. This word was used for tuberculosis in Greek literature for the first time in 460 BCE. During Hippocrates's (an ancient greek physician) time(460 BCE- 760 BCE), tuberculosis was the most common illness. And hippocrates ordered his physicians to refrain from visiting patients with tuberculosis to protect their reputation as these patients cannot be treated and always die. White Plague: Tuberculosis was called White plague in Europe. There was an epidemic of tuberculosis in Europe during the 17th century which lasted for 2 centuries[1]. From Europe it also spread to United States because of migration and it lead to overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions which created perfect conditions for the propagation of the disease. Yaksma,Balasa : These words were used in ancient India for tuberculosis. Yaksma – the word used in Rigveda(one of the four ancient vedas. It dates back to 1500 BCE) was the first word used to describe tuberculosis. Then in Atharvaveda the term as Balasa was used. In Atharvaveda, scrofula was decribed for the first time. Scrofula is the term used for tuberculosis of the neck, or, more precisely, a cervical tuberculous lymphadenopathy. Scrofula is usually a result of an infection in the lymph nodes, known as lymphadenitis and is most often observed in immunocompromised patients [2]. Xulao bing: This is the word believed to be describing tuberculosis in Ancient China. It was first described in chinese literature 2700 BCE[1] Signs of the disease have also been found in Egyptian mummies dated between 3000 and 2400 BCE. Several mummies were found in Egypt that had abcesses in lungs characteristic of tuberculosis. Evidence indicates that hospitals for tuberculosis existed in Egypt as early as 1500 BCE. This disease has claimed more life in the history of humanity for centuries than anything else[3]. Before Robert Koch discovered the causative agent of TB many had found out small facts about this disease which ultimately helped Robert Koch. 460BCE-760BCE: Hippocrates suspected its contagious nature[6] 1650- Silivius is the first to describe the tubercles, cavities and abscesses that relate to the stages of consumption as it gets worse in patients[3] 1720- The physician Benjamin Marten describes in his “A Theory of Consumption” that tuberculosis may be caused by small living creatures that are transmitted through the air to other patients. Despite these breakthroughs, the disease still presented a nearly impossible battle for most patients until at least the mid nineteenth century. 1819- Laennec was convinced that "tubercle"The Germ Thepry was the common factor in all forms of Tuberculosis[6]. 1839- Schonlein rechristened the disease as Tuberculosis[6]. 1854- Hermann Brehmer,a botanist, was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was advised to go to himalayas to be in a healthier climate. There he got cured and and then wrote a dissertation titled "Tuberculosis is a Curable Disease". He then opened his sanatorium where he exposed his patients to fresh high altitude air. They were also provided with nutritious food. The results surpassed all previous treatments[4]. 1862- Pasteur put forth the "Germ theory of Disease" which provided stimulus for finding the causative agent of the disease[6]. 1865- Jean-Antoine Villemin showed by animal experiments that Tuberculosis could be transmitted if the sputum sample of infected man or cow is inoculated into rabbit or guinea pig. 1877- Cohneim and Salamonsen inoculated TB into anterior chamber of Rabbit's eye thus infecting it and Tappeiner was able to infect dog with TB by making them inhale infected material. 1882-Robert Koch created a stain that identifies the disease, which then allows biologists to fight it more accurately[3]. He also discovered a way of obtaining a pure culture of M.tuberculosis. 1944- Selman Waksman discovered a usable cure while at the University of California that is called streptomycin, which is the basis for most medicines we use today[3].Waksman had been studying the Streptomyces family of organism since his college student days and had, for a time, been studying the organism Streptomyces griseus. Streptomycin was isolated from S. griseus and found effective against tuberculosis by one of Waksman's graduate students, Albert Schatz[5]. Waksman was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1952 for "for his discovery of streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis"[5]. References: [1] Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia n.d., History of tuberculosis,viewed 23 August 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tuberculosis
[4]Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia n.d., Hermann Brehmer, viewed 23 August 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Brehmer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selman_Waksman#Streptomycin [6] Sakula A.,1983, Robert Koch: Centenary of the Discovery of the Tubercle Bacillus, Canadian Veterinary Journal(Can Vet J), vol 24, no.4 ,pp. 127-131 |
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