What Turned Aunt Navis Blue? A Discussion on Tuberculosis

This episode first aired in January 2021. We are taking the summer off as we search for a new podcast co-host. We’re re-airing some of our most listened to episodes. Enjoy!

Consumption, the Captain of all these Men of Death, the White Plague, the King’s Evil -- all names for the bacterial infection known today as Tuberculosis or TB. 

In the early nineteenth century, TB was one of the most common killers American adults, but since entering the antibiotic era, this once deadly disease has faded into the background of American life. Unfortunately, our eagerness to forget our past has allowed TB to continue to affect low and middle income countries across the globe. 

Dr. Carole Mitnick, Sc.D, Professor of Global Health & Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School  reminds us that Tuberculosis, and super-resistant tuberculosis, kills around 1.4 million people globally each year.  Continuing to deprioritize this nasty bug will only come back to bite us. 

To our amateur historians out there, give us a shout in the comments if you can figure out what turned Lance’s Aunt Navis blue.