Tuberculosis

In seven chapters, Yancey presents a clear understanding of tuberculosis, "the persistent enemy." With statistics, the author informs that TB is no longer a disease mainly among a poor or sickly population. It is affecting healthy middle class children and adults and is the top infectious killer in the world, above AIDS and pneumonia. It infects 1/3 of the world's population.The challenge in eradicating this disease that damages the lungs and is highly contagious is that many strains of TB now are resistant to drug therapies that have previously been effective. Also, governments around the world do not all support prevention or agree on the most effective treatment. Although we have come a long way from treating the disease with butter on feet, ashes of swine dung mixed with raisin wine, wolf's liver, elephant blood, brown sugar and water, or syrup made from millipedes, there is still no one all-encompassing protocol that is affordable and effective for the population who are carriers of TB.This well-researched book contains many interesting illustrations, such as infected cells, old public health posters, researchers in labs in the late 1940s, and maps of incidences of TB cases by state. Yancey personalizes some of the information by presenting cases of individuals and their families who are dealing with the disease. She even-handedly presents the concerns and issues and provides a chapter on action and awareness. Also included is a glossary, resources, further reading, index. Useful as a source of information for school reports, Tuberculosis is also a book that is an interesting an enlightening history of how small the world becomes through the spread of disease.