British Literature Survey
Reference Pages: Physical Disability Group

Diphtheria and Tuberculosis
by Agnieszka Zmuda

Diphtheria and tuberculosis were one of the most prevalent diseases in the 19th century. Many artists and poets were affected such as John Keats and the Brontë sisters.

Diphtheria is known as a highly infectious disease that has been linked to poor and unsanitary conditions. Symptoms are not immediately noticed after infection as the incubation period can last between five and twenty days. (6) Swollen lymph glands usually accompany this incubation, however; the first true symptom of this disease has typically been ear pain. Infection originates through the respiratory system. Feebleness, a weak heartbeat, and damaged nervous system are common symptoms (5). Between 1871 and 1889, the average death rate per year from diphtheria in England and Wales was about 3632. The total number of deaths was 69,005. It was not until 1883 that the cause of it, a bacillus called Corynebacterium diphtheria, was discovered (6). The first preventative measure was a diphtheria antitoxin introduced in 1895 and it was not until the 1920s that the first vaccine became available (3).

Tuberculosis was the leading cause of mortality in the nineteenth century. It is still causing over 5,000 global deaths per day. Tuberculosis, better known as TB, is an infectious disease that is caused by Mycobacterium through the respiratory system. Symptoms include rapid lung tissue deterioration, reddish brown nodules and ulcers on the skin, spine deformation, and coughing up blood. It is also known as the “White Plague” and is connected to filthy conditions (4). The vaccine was made available to children in the 1920s and originated from a weakened strain of TB (1).

Works Cited

1. Buikstra, Jane E. and Charlotte A. Roberts. The Bioarchaeology of Tuberculosis: A Global View on a Reemerging Disease. Florida: University Press of Florida, 2003.

2. Daniel, Thomas M. Pioneers of Medicine and Their Impact on Tuberculosis. New York: University of Rochester Press, 2000.

3. “Diphtheria.” Think Twice Global Vaccine Institute. 2004. 31 Jan. 2006. http://thinktwice.com/diphther.htm.

4. Porter, Roy. “Medicines.” An Oxford Companion to the Romantic Age British Culture 1776-1832. Ed. Iain McCalman. NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1999. 171-175.

5. Slade, Daniel D. Diphtheria: Its Nature and Treatment. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea, 1864.

6. Thorne, R. Thorne. Diphtheria: Its Natural History and Prevention. London: Macmillan and Co., 1891.

Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu