Drawing of microscopic tuberculosis bacteria in milk

Category

Library Item

Item no

21954

Title

Drawing of tuberculosis bacteria in milk as it appeared under the microscope.

Description

An image of tuberculosis through a microscope is shown in the circle. Lots of little red specks can be seen, some of which are clumped together. The circle is framed by a black square. There is introductory heading and text above the image in a cursive font. Below the image small text in brackets indicates the scale of the picture.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1898

Type

Reproduction

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly infectious disease which usually affects the lungs, but can also attack other parts of the body. At the beginning of the 20th century there was no known cure. Pulmonary TB was the most common form, where half of those diagnosed would die within five years. Younger men and women were particularly at risk and babies and toddlers were not expected to survive. There was a stigma attached to having the disease which by 1948 was killing someone every two hours in Scotland, the only country in Europe to see a rise in cases at that time.
The first drug to cure TB was streptomycin, but it wasn't until the creation of the National Health Service that research improved the chances of sufferers. The BCG vaccination was introduced in Britain, which along with more pasteurisation of milk, halted the spread of the disease. However, TB has still not been fully eradicated in Great Britain.

The first TB dispensary was opened in Bank Street, by Dr Robert Philp in 1887, and was the central point for the 'Edinburgh Scheme' for the detection, prevention and treatment of TB, but in 1906 there were 400 deaths per annum attributed to TB in Edinburgh. The Victoria Dispensary also provided a service to the citizens of Edinburgh and gave advice and treatment, as well as identifying potential victims. Advanced cases were sent to hospital, usually the City Hospital, and early onset cases to a sanatorium where they were exposed to fresh air and sunlight to prevent further development of the disease. Often, the victims lived in poor and cramped housing which exacerbated its spread to their families and nurses were sent from the Victoria Dispensary to provide care in the home. The Royal Victoria Hospital, originally known as the Victoria Hospital for Consumption was the main sanatorium.
The death rate in Edinburgh had declined from 1899 onwards, but increased after the end of World War II. John Crofton, who was appointed Professor of Tuberculosis at Edinburgh University in 1952, worked to clear Edinburgh of TB and achieved this within six years, but Tuberculosis still exists in Britain in the present day.

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Animals > Mammals > Cattle