Auntie Jen's Family Trees: World Tuberculosis Day

"Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects your lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes." - Mayo Clinic

Tuberculosis is not something you hear about very much anymore. You usually associate it with something like Polio, Measles, Mumps, etc. You surely don't hear about many people contracting it today. It ran rampant in the late 1800s-1900s, killing approximately 1 in 7 people. This day is set aside to commemorate the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes tuberculosis. Why is this important to me? Not most people know, but I was actually diagnosed as having TB when I was a child.
First, let's look at the history of TB and the tests that were used to determine it. To determine if you have TB or not, a skin test is used. While the skin test has developed over time, it was first introduced in 1907 by Clemens Von Pirquet, where they put a small amount of Tuberculin (an extract of the TB bacilli) under the skin and measured the body's reaction. Then in the 1930s, a process was created that used a purified protein derivative of TB for the skin test. That was created by Florence Seibert PhD.
The skin test is still used today and has been virtually unchanged for 80 years. This is the test that was used on me. I was 3 years old and going in for routine immunizations along with the TB skin test. Usually, it can take up to 24 hours (or more) for a reaction to occur, but I reacted immediately. The site where they gave the injection turned red and swelled up. At first, the doctor said there is nothing to worry about; to let it go for now and test next year. So they did. The next year, I had the same reaction to the TB skin test. Again, the doctors felt there was no cause for concern as I wasn't showing any symptoms. So they decided to wait one more year. Now I was 5 years old and getting ready to start school. So this was the important moment. Would I react again or not?
Well, you guessed it. Yep, I had the same reaction to the skin test. So they decided to go a step further and do blood tests and an X-ray to confirm it. Both came out positive for TB. The X-ray was the most important. They could actually see the TB in my lungs. But the good part was my body had already begun to build-up defenses against the TB which is why I wasn't showing any symptoms. I was merely a carrier for the disease. But they didn't want to take any chances, so they set me up for the 4-drug cocktail treatment: isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and rifampin. This 4-drug cocktail is still the most common treatment for drug-susceptible TB.
Can you imagine what my Mom must have been going through with all this? I sure can't! To this day, we have no idea where I contracted this disease, although I have my suspicions. My great-grandma, Honey, had emphysema along with other complications when she passed away. I was just barely a year old, but my mom had made sure I got to meet Great-Grandma Honey before she passed. We have only one photo to memorialize the event. That is one of the possibilities. The other would be Grandpa Les. He was a heavy smoker and had weak lungs himself. He died from having many strokes and an aneurysm. He passed away around the same time as Great-Grandma Honey, so I was around him for the first year of my life. Neither one was diagnosed with TB, but that doesn't mean they didn't have it. I learn more toward Great-Grandma Honey being the carrier.
As of today, I have no symptoms of having TB, although I am told I will always test positive for the TB skin test as I am now a carrier of TB. I've gotten updated X-rays in the past that have shown no problems or spread of the disease in my lungs, but it is still something that looms over me, especially with this Pandemic that is going on.
So while today is the day to commemorate the man who discovered the bacilli and is dedicated to educating the world of the impact of TB, this day is just a reminder of how blessed I am that this disease did not overtake me. That was was a treatment for me to protect me and those I love so I wouldn't spread it. And that today, I have no lasting effects (that I know of) from the disease or the treatment.