The Forgotten Plague

Gr 9 Up—Killing one person in every seven who had ever lived, tuberculosis was responsible for more deaths than any other illness worldwide. In the early 19th century, it was observed that sufferers did better in the open air, and thus a massive campaign was launched to encourage those infected to migrate West to seek a cure. With the discovery in 1882 that tuberculosis was caused by bacteria and was therefore contagious, and not hereditary, attitudes towards sufferers changed dramatically. No longer were those infected welcomed out West, and public health officials policed and quarantined sufferers of the disease, especially the poor. It was in this environment that Edward Trudeau, a doctor and tuberculosis sufferer, built the first sanatorium in the Adirondacks in 1884 where those infected—from all walks of life—could take the "health cure." With the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics in 1940s, the world changed, and the horror that was tuberculosis faded into the past. Michael Murphy (narrator) deftly weaves threads of information, with contributions by several historians, an immunologist, and first-person narratives by survivors of the illness. Historical black-and-white photographs, along with contemporary footage, brings attention to this largely forgotten and almost unimaginable chapter in American history. Viewers are also reminded that the scourge of tuberculosis isn't gone. With the advent of AIDS and the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the bacteria, the battle continues.