Do We Really Need Any More Bad News?

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Between the 1600s and the 1800s tuberculosis was responsible for about 25% of all deaths in Europe and the United States. This infectious disease has been around a while. Modern strains might have originated back as far as 20,000 years ago. With an even more ancient ancestor having the capacity of affecting some early human types back as far as 3 million years ago. In the 1800s it was often seen as hereditary. Its symptoms were fatigue, fever, a cough lasting for weeks, chest pain, fever and night sweats. The only treatment was fresh air, rest, and nutrition. Those affected were usually sent to sanitariums and it earned the nicknames of "the white plague" and "consumption". Dr. Robert Koch identified the bacterium in 1882, but no cure came until the 20th century with strong antibiotics.in the 40s and 50s. Today tuberculosis is completely curable with a four-drug regimen that is taken for 6 months. In 2023 tuberculosis reclaimed its position as the world's deadliest infectious disease. It killed an estimated 1.25 million that year alone. Woe is me. We know who we can thank for a lack of national media attention to this. What a group of guys.