Image source Check out This Podcast Will Kill You's TB episode Script Tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial infection, that passes through the air, and attacks the lungs (sometimes, it will attack other internal organs, as well). Patients with an "active" form of tuberculosis, may feel: weak, loss of appetite, fever, chest pains, night sweats, a persistent cough and may even cough up blood. It is possible to be a carrier for the bacteria without displaying symptoms (asymptomatic carrier).   TB in WI   By the late 1870s, concerns that cases of tuberculosis, often referred to as consumption, were increasing in Wisconsin were expressed.  Physicians identified the need to gather information about the number of cases, their locations, patient ages, and fatalities, in order to better understand the effects of the disease in Wisconsin.  The information could then be used to help determine how to reduce the spread of infection and to develop viable treatments.   The cause of tuberculosis was unknown until 1882, and speculation regarding the possible causes of the disease was widespread.  Reports were intermixed with discussions of supposed sources including “soil moisture,” “climate change” and “insufficient clothing.”  A large component of health professionals strongly believed the origin to be genetic. In 1882, when Robert Koch discovered that the cause of tuberculosis was a bacteria called tubercle bacillus, the medical community could finally begin to address controlling the spread of the disease based on limiting exposure to contamination.  However, not everyone was convinced by Koch’s work, and even those who endorsed it included individuals who felt it unwise to accept the bacteria as the only source of the disease.  Also, no treatment was known.  Therefore, movements to develop appropriate treatments based on the bacterial nature of the disease were not pursued in earnest immediately. The Wisconsin State Board of Health continued to support treatment through “purity of air and removal from all special causes of irritation to the lungs... and the general upbuilding of the system by nutritious diet, with relief from overwork and from depressing anxieties...”   The first statistical report on the prevalence of tuberculosis in Wisconsin was presented in 1894 stating: For the year ending September 30, 1893, according to the reports received from 593 localities in the state 622 deaths occurred from Consumption; and for the year ending September 30, 1894, from 648 localities 903 deaths are reported.  It is impossible to estimate the exact number of death that occur from this disease in the state at the present time.  Statistics in relation to these are of the most vital importance as it is now recognized that this is one of the preventable diseases with which we have to contend.   Collection of additional statistics, as well as intense advocacy efforts made by individuals and organizations, eventually led, in 1902, to the Wisconsin State Board of Health recommending the establishment of a state sanatorium for the care and treatment of patients with tuberculosis.7  In 1904, the Milwaukee county committee on tuberculosis was organized to “...address the question of the establishment of sanatoria for the treatment of consumption...” and to organize a campaign for the education of the public regarding the contagiousness of the disease and of the curability of consumption in the early stages.   Reports were prepared and, by 1908, there were three small sanatoriums in Wisconsin accommodating a total of 100 patients.  The oldest was River Pines, a private hospital that opened in August 1906, located on the Wisconsin River near Stevens Point.  The second to open was Blue Mound, located on the outskirts of Milwaukee, which operated as a philanthropic institution.  The third placed into operation was the