A chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, most often affecting the lungs, historically called consumption for the wasting it produced. It was among the leading causes of death in nineteenth-century Europe and, per the World Health Organization, remains one of the world's leading infectious killers. Robert Koch identified the causative bacillus in 1882, a discovery that helped establish germ theory; effective antibiotic treatment did not arrive until streptomycin's introduction in the 1940s.
Facts
Condition Classinfectious, bacterial, chronic 3 Causative AgentMycobacterium tuberculosis 3 First DescribedMarks Robert Koch's identification of the tuberculosis bacillus, not the first recognition of the disease itself, which is far older. First Described (Era)Skeletal evidence of tuberculosis has been found in human remains thousands of years old, and the Greek physician Hippocrates described the disease, under the name phthisis, circa 400 BCE. 4 PrevalenceAn estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis in 2022, and it remained one of the world's leading infectious causes of death, according to World Health Organization data. 5 Classification
Body SystemSourced to the subject's own account ICD-10 ChapterI: Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases 2 Communicable or Non-communicable Transmission RouteSourced to the subject's own account Causative Agent
Causative Agent (category) Connections
Associated With
Koch's 1882 identification of the tuberculosis bacillus is part of the same evidentiary program, Koch's postulates, that established germ theory.
Source The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of HumanityRoy Porter
Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
X-rays, Discoveries Chest radiography became central to tuberculosis diagnosis and to twentieth-century mass screening campaigns.
Source The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of HumanityRoy Porter
Long-Form Articles
Treated By
Effective treatment requires a multi-drug antibiotic regimen (streptomycin from the 1940s, later isoniazid and rifampin) sustained for months; a single antibiotic alone permits resistant strains to emerge.
Source The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of HumanityRoy Porter
Directly observed treatment, short course, known as DOTS, is the World Health Organization strategy for treating tuberculosis.
Source Streptomycin (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Tuberculosis (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWikipedia infobox, field/specialty parameter
Infectious disease, pulmonology
Lead section, transmission-route statement
Tuberculosis is spread from one person to the next through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze.
View the Source 2. Wikipedia: ICD-10
WikipediaList of chapters, Chapter IQuote, List of chapters, Chapter I
Certain infectious and parasitic diseases
3. Encyclopaedia Britannica
4. The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity
Roy Porter, W. W. Norton and Company, 1997
5. World Health Organization Fact Sheets
Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
American College of PhysiciansAssociated With: Infectious DiseaseView the Source Streptomycin (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationTreated By: Streptomycin, Lead sectionQuote, Treated By: Streptomycin, Lead section
used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis
Frequently Asked Questions
Who identified the bacterium that causes tuberculosis?
Robert Koch, in 1882.
Robert Koch identified the causative bacillus in 1882, a discovery that helped establish germ theory.
Why was tuberculosis once called consumption?
Because of the wasting it produced.
It was historically called consumption for the wasting that the disease produced.
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