Tuberculosis: The White Death (1 x 60')
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Tuberculosis has been present in humans since antiquity. This wide-spread disease has plagued history as far back as 4000 BC. Skeletal remains show prehistoric humans had TB, and tubercular decay has been found in the spines of mummies from 3000-2400 BC. More commonly known as the “White Death,” its horrific reality unleashes life-threatening symptoms that affect the lungs with signs of violent coughing, chest pain, and coughing up blood. Though this deadly disease may have traumatic connotations that infected hordes of people dating back to the early 1900’s, today it is on the comeback trail with a wicked vengeance infecting up to one-third of the world’s population.
In 1905, Robert Koch, German microbiologist and researcher, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine. What presaged this prestigious award? His untiring work several years before in the discovery of the tubercle bacillus was the prime incentive. Tuberculosis: The White Death is the captivating documentary film that is the first of its kind to track the historical evolution, showcase the destruction, and unravel the science behind this deadly disease. Even before the Industrial Revolution, tuberculosis was regarded as vampirism. People with TB often showed symptoms such as red, swollen eyes, pale skin and coughing blood, suggesting the idea that the only way for the afflicted to replenish this loss of blood was by sucking blood. Along with dramatic re-enactments of Robert Koch at his lab in Berlin as well as visually stimulating animations analyzing this disastrous strain, a modern-day investigation will highlight the plight of this world-wide disease, and where it stands today.
At his memorable lecture before the Berlin Physiologic Society on March 14th, 1882, Robert Koch, with his address “On Tuberculosis” publicly announced that he had discovered the tubercle bacillus as the cause of tuberculosis. A table in the lecture room was fitted with a microscope, stained slide preparations, Erlenmeyer flasks, and glass boxes containing cultures. In a slow, somewhat halting manner, Koch described with clear, simple logic every step in his discovery of the tubercle bacillus. The key discovery was the need to treat each preparation with an alkaline solution before staining, a step serving to dissolve the thick, waxy coat around each bacterial cell. The audience was totally adsorbed during the lecture, as each person viewed the excellent preparations through the microscope. Absolute silence prevailed at the end of Koch’s address. There was no applause, no questions, no debate. Slowly one member after another shook hands with Koch, among them the ever-doubting Rudolph Virchow, the dean of German medical research, who personally expressed his amazement.
Tuberculosis: The White Death will journey through the successes and failures of a man whose legacy nonetheless has impacted microbiology and infectious diseases to this day. The optimism in 1982 that tuberculosis would be eradicated by 2010 is no closer to reality than Koch’s announcement in 1882 that he had found the cure. The onset of AIDS and the evolution of multi-drug resistant strains of the tubercle bacillus has, in many cases, returned us to the days of when supportive measures in sanatoriums was the only cure.