Silent killer claimed thousands of lives
TUBERCULOSIS is a deadly bacterial disease that is spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person.
While it mainly affects the lungs, it can be found in any part of the body, including the abdomen, bones and nervous system.
TB can almost always be cured and a course of antibiotics will usually need to be taken for six months.
If you’re infected with a drug-resistant form of TB, treatment with six or more different medications may be needed.
TB, known as the silent killer, was a scourge in Ireland in the early 1900s. It claimed the lives of an estimated 12,000 young Irish adults in 1904, according to the Irish Red Cross Journal.
Peamount Hospital West Dublin was founded as a TB sanatorium in 1912 before antibiotics were created.