History of Tuberculosis

-Tuberculosis has been infecting people all throughout human history and prehistory

-It reached epidemic proportions in Europe and North America during the 18th and 19th centuries. Then it began to decline. 

-The ́ophile Laennec began the understanding of the pathogenesis at the beginning of the 19th century 

-Jean-Antoine Villemin in 1865 demonstrated the transmissibility of Mycobacterium 

-Robert Koch in 1882 identified tubercle bacillus as the etiology can agent

-Public Health measures to combat the spread of tuberculosis emerged following the discovery of its bacterial cause. 

-BCG vaccination was widely employed following World War I. It lost its effect on humans as the virus evolved

-Modern tuberculosis treatment began with the discovery of streptomycin in 1944 and isoniazid in 1952.

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