Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. Around 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms.
The Cross of Lorraine, known as the Cross of Anjou in the 16th century, is a heraldic two-barred cross, consisting of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizontal bars are "graded" with the upper bar being the shorter, though variations with the bars of equal length are also seen. The Lorraine name has come to signify several cross variations, including the Patriarchal cross with its bars near the top. The Cross of Lorraine came to the Duchy of Lorraine via the Kingdom of Hungary in the 15th century. Similar two-barred cross symbols prominently feature in heraldry from Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. Its ultimate origins are theorised to be Byzantine. The Cross of Lorraine was used as a symbol of Free France during World War II and was earlier used by French patriots to signify desire to reclaim provinces lost to Germany in the Franco-Prussian War.
Christmas seals are adhesive labels that are similar in appearance to postage stamps that are sold then affixed to mail during the Christmas season to raise funds and awareness for charitable programs. Christmas seals have become particularly associated with lung diseases such as tuberculosis, and with child welfare in general. They were first issued in Denmark beginning in 1904, with Sweden and Iceland following with issues that same year. Thereafter the use of Christmas seals proved to be popular and spread quickly around the world, with 130 countries producing their own issues.
A sanatorium, also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a healthy climate, usually in the countryside. The idea of healing was an important reason for the historical wave of establishments of sanatoria, especially at the end of the 19th- and early 20th centuries. One sought, for instance, the healing of consumptives especially tuberculosis or alcoholism, but also of more obscure addictions and longings of hysteria, masturbation, fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Facility operators were often charitable associations such as the Order of St. John and the newly founded social welfare insurance companies.
World Tuberculosis Day, observed on 24 March each year, is designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease. In 2018, 10 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.5 million died from the disease, mostly in low and middle-income countries. This also makes it the leading cause of death from an infectious disease.
M/V Christmas Seal was a Canadian medical ship operating in Newfoundland from 1947 until 1970. Formerly a United States air-sea rescue vessel during World War II, she later served as an oceanographic research platform before sinking in 1976.
Edward Livingston Trudeau was an American physician who established the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium at Saranac Lake for the treatment of tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis is a serious public health problem in China. China has the world's third largest cases of tuberculosis, but progress in tuberculosis control was slow during the 1990s. Detection of tuberculosis had stagnated at around 30% of the estimated total of new cases, and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis was a major problem. These signs of inadequate tuberculosis control can be linked to a malfunctioning health system. The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, brought to light substantial weaknesses in the country's public health system. After the government realized the impact that the SARS outbreak had on the country, they increased leadership in their health department. After the SARS epidemic was brought under control, the government increased its commitment and leadership to tackle public health problems and, among other efforts, increased public health funding, revised laws that concerned the control of infectious diseases, implemented the world's largest internet-based disease reporting system to improve transparency, reach and speed, and started a program to rebuild local public health facilities and national infrastructure.
The Trudeau Institute is an independent, not-for-profit, biomedical research center located on a 42 acres (170,000 m2) campus in Saranac Lake, New York. Its scientific mission is to make breakthrough discoveries that lead to improved human health.
Respiratory Health Association is a nonprofit organization located on Chicago's Near West Side.
The Christmas Seal & Charity Stamp Society is a non-profit philatelic organization devoted to collecting Christmas seals, charity labels, fundraising seals, charity stamps and semi-postal postage stamps where part of the cost of the stamp goes to charity. The society was founded in 1931 by W.L. Kinkead, a stamp collector and president of the New Jersey Tuberculosis League.
A two-barred cross is similar to a Latin cross but with an extra bar added. The lengths and placement of the bars vary, and most of the variations are interchangeably called the cross of Lorraine, the patriarchal cross, the Orthodox cross or the archiepiscopal cross.
The Canadian Lung Association is a national organization and volunteer-based health charity that supports lung health research, education, prevention of disease/disorders and advocacy in Canada.
Robert George Ferguson, OBE, was a pioneer in North America's fight against tuberculosis who worked for the introduction of free medical treatment.
Lawrence Francis Flick (1856–1938) was an American physician who pioneered research and treatment of tuberculosis. He was influential as an author, lecturer, and historian. He is a co-founder of the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis and was the first to advocate its formation as early as 1898.
The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, or The Union, is a century old global membership based, scientific organization headquartered in Paris with the stated goals to "improve health for people in low- and middle-income Countries". The Union focuses its work in three areas of lung health: Tuberculosis control, Tobacco Control, and other communicable and non-communicable Lung diseases.The Union organises the annual Union World Conference on Lung Health, the largest annual meeting on lung health in the world, manages the International Journal of TB and Lung Disease, and implements various funded projects and activities across the world.
Tuberculosis in India is a major health problem, causing about 220,000 deaths every year. In 2020, the Indian government made statements to eliminate tuberculosis from the country by 2025 through its National TB Elimination Program. Interventions in this program include major investment in health care, providing supplemental nutrition credit through the Nikshay Poshan Yojana, organizing a national epidemiological survey for tuberculosis, and organizing a national campaign to tie together the Indian government and private health infrastructure for the goal of eliminating the disease.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Pneumologie und Beatmungsmedizin is the largest and oldest medical professional organization for respiratory disorders in the German-speaking world and serves as a forum for all medical practitioners and scientists in the field of respiratory medicine. Almost 28% of the more than 3,000 members are women. Pneumologie has been the official journal of the German Respiratory Society since 1981.
The town of Colorado Springs, Colorado, played an important role in the history of tuberculosis in the era before antituberculosis drugs and vaccines. Tuberculosis management before this era was difficult and often of limited effect. In the 19th century, a movement for tuberculosis treatment in hospital-like facilities called sanatoriums became prominent, especially in Europe and North America. Thus people sought tuberculosis treatment in Colorado Springs because of its dry climate and fresh mountain air. Some people stayed in boarding houses, while others sought the hospital-like facilities of sanatoriums. In the 1880s and 1890s, it is estimated that one-third of the people living in Colorado Springs had tuberculosis. The number of sanatoriums and hospitals increased into the twentieth century. During World War II, medicines were developed that successfully treated tuberculosis and by the late 1940s specialized tuberculosis treatment facilities were no longer needed.
Einar Holbøll was a postmaster and philanthropist from Denmark who conceived the idea of Christmas Seals and was fundamentally involved in their issuance. They were sold at post offices to raise much needed funds to research and fight tuberculosis, an incurable lung disease that was occurring in alarming proportions in Denmark and other countries around the world, esp among children. After much effort, Holbøll, convinced the Danish government to issue Christmas Seals, and in December, 1904, Denmark issued its first Christmas Seal. Christmas Seals were soon adapted by other countries, including Sweden, Norway, Iceland and the United States. Subsequently, the association between Christmas seals and their usage with the fight against tuberculosis became prevalent throughout the twentieth century. The great success of the Christmas seal provided the badly need funding to make the effort to fight tuberculosis possible.
