Tuberculosis - "the captain of all the men of death"

Tuberculosis was perhaps one of the greatest single causes of death, particularly in young people, from the early 1800's right up until the 1960's. Bunyan described it as the "captain of all the men of death". 

Tuberculosis is part of the social and economic history of the working people of the towns and cities of Scotland and tells us much about their living and working conditions. It was a disease of overcrowded housing, poverty and malnutrition.

Tuberculosis typically attacks the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. It is spread through the air when people who have an active infection cough and sneeze. The classic symptoms of  an active infection are a chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss (the latter giving rise to term "consumption").

Glasgow had the highest death rate from pulmonary tuberculosis in Britain (25 per 1,000 of population). In 1957 an intensive five week campaign was launched to identify TB carriers in the city. Thirty-seven mobile radiography units manned by volunteers visited housing schemes, offices and factories with the initial aim of X-raying 250,000 people. However, intense media coverage and a weekly prize draw from the names of those who came forward helped raise the number of screenings to nearly 715,000.

The Glasgow campaign led to a significant reduction of the incidence of the disease and became the model for campaigns in other British cities.