The Deadliest Infectious Disease of All Time | Crash Course Lecture

Tuberculosis is often thought of as an old-timey disease, but in reality, it continues to kill over a million and a half people per year, despite its known cure. How did we get here, to a world where decades of work toward a cure stalled in its dissemination around the globe? And how can understanding the history of TB point us toward a different future? If you’ve been following author and TB-hater John Green in any way for the last year or so, this video is the deep dive you’ve been waiting for…

This lecture was produced thanks to the generosity of the Crash Course audience, including those who fund us on Patreon, who’ve purchased Crash Course coins, and who share Crash Course with others. Your support lets us experiment with new formats, cover lesser-known topics, and go deeper than we ever have before. Thank you!

Chapters:
The Deadliest Infectious Disease of All Time 00:00
Tuberculosis is Weird 3:36
"Man Got to Tell Himself He Understand" 7:05
The Allure of Consumption 14:46
The White Man's Plague 21:07
Treatments and the Cure 27:29
Where the Drugs Are Not 34:06
A Fundamental Mistrust 36:48
The World We Choose 45:34

The surprising history - and current dilemma - of TB

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[DwynTomlinson]

My mother was a nurse at a TB Sanatorium in the early 40's. People went there to die. When I asked her how she didn't get sick, she said that the hospital made sure that the staff was well-fed and got lots of rest. What a truly radical concept, especially for nursing staff.

[ramblinevilmushroom]

This is REALLY good.
A series like this one, on diseases and their impact on history, culture, and politics, would be AMAZING.

[TheDeluche]

You can tell John is holding back his frustrations about speaking on this topic. His seriousness is piercing.

[MiguelGarcia-uxcr]

I remember back in 2019 when my girlfriend started coughing and had persistent inflamed lymph nodes. She’s been sick for 3 months but doctors can’t seem to manage it. One time I was with her, I joked around the possibility that she might have TB knowing it would be a bit far fetched considering she’s young and healthy. Then there came a time when her coughing got worse. She changed to a new doctor, got her xray done and it was clear, however, after completing yet another cycle of antibiotics, her illness never went away. Then one time, I asked her to get tested for TB and viola, it came out positive. It was one of the hardest part of our relationship trying to manage her disease but I can’t imagine how hard it was for her especially having to swallow multiple large tablets a day. It took her more than 6months to medicate and finally was free from TB just a few days before COVID-19 came out. She’s well and all today but the she developed some kind of phobia from taking medicine due to that experience.

[parikshitr.rajpara]

These lectures are so good. In the era of short form content, this feels like a breath of fresh air.

[Shiffles]

I recently learned that my husband's great great grandfather, an educational book publishing magnate, devoted himself to fighting tuberculosis in Canada a century ago. He funded our first sanitarium, public health screening campaigns, and scholarships for medical students who agreed to research the disease. Just think: a century from now, one of John's descendants might watch this lecture in a world without TB.

[neonshower]

I work in the HR compliance department for a large corporation that contracts out healthcare workers to nursing homes and medical rehab facilities. Nearly half my job is reviewing their annual TB tests. The longer I have worked here, the more appalled I get as to how TB is disregarded by the US. I am often berated and verbally abused because these DOCTORS refuse to submit to “unnecessary testing for a disease that doesn’t exist anymore.” Let me tell you… IT DEFINITELY DOES. It is rare to be sure, but I have received positive results, taken from people who work with some of our most vulnerable populations. It terrifies me about how little they care about the safety of their patients, and how they have absolutely no idea how privileged they are to work for a company that will provide them testing for FREE when millions die of it worldwide. Even here in America, each test is massively expensive, running at the cheapest close to $100 for the skin test, which is not even as accurate as the blood test, which costs even more. Tuberculosis is not a disease of the past, it still exists all over the world, and it is our responsibility as humans to take this seriously, and to work towards ending it.

[elizabethcochran]

That stigma segment needs to be shared as a independent clip, if that isn't already planned. What a well written explanation that is empathetic to all with disease/illness. Bravo - really. Such a good segment.

[ClanWiE]

John, I applaud your restraint in making this less than an hr long

[fossilfighters]

some history, some philosophy, some science, and a fundamental hope. great lecture john

[nolram]

I'm the person that started the TBfighters website - it's surreal seeing it come here. Thank you for all your work John!

[marieonishenko]

As a disabled and chronically ill person I really appreciate you talking about the stigma. I have many diagnosed health issues and honestly the stigma can be some of the most frustrating parts of being chronically ill. If I had a nickel for every time I was told yoga would change my life I'd probably only have 2 dollars, which isn't much but it's annoying I'd even have that much.

[FakeBlocks]

As a resident Pulmonologist, I can assure you that TB is still a very real issue.
I practice in Greece and have had patients with TB from Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia. Including strains resistant to the class 4x therapy.

[jessicaengelbrecht]

I am five weeks into my TB treatment. I was vaccinated against it as a baby and received a booster at age 6. I was not even symptomatic when I was diagnosed and yet here we are. I live in the Western Cape which, I'm told, has the third highest number of active TB patients. Since COVID lock down ended that number has also increased. I am lucky because I have a very treatable form of TB.

[christinelee]

I work in a government lab in the US, I process sputum samples, culture them and identify the bacteria using microscopy as well as molecular techniques. Many of the strains we identify are drug resistant and it is indeed frightening. I clicked on this video expecting to learn more about the microbe itself, but I was completely fascinated to learn about the social and cultural impacts the disease has had. This video was so interesting to me, I would love to watch more videos in this format on different diseases!

[codpyry]

The bit about the parents hearing the "reason" why their child has leukemia hit me really hard. That's horrifying

[fibonacci]

SO proud of everyone who worked on this—the graphics, music, editing, production quality, and of course the tremendous script were all incredible. If I could buy you all a drink I would!

[geisaflops]

I am currently 5 months into my tb treatment. It hasn't been easy. To be honest, I wasn't even aware that tb was still so prevalent. I have no idea how I got it. I am from a developed European Country, and had had the privilege of being oblivious to it for most of my life. I felt ill, but I never even fathomed that it could be tb. I went to the doctor several times before I was even diagnosed with it. The sentence "We suspect you have tuberculosis, but don't worry, it can be cured." feels scary to hear. Since so much time had elapsed, my lung was already in pretty bad shape. To add insult to injury, I also had an allergic reaction to one of my medications. Thankfully, I am young, and I am not a smoker or drinker. Most of all, I am insanely lucky to be in a country with a good healthcare service and a strict treatment plan for tuberculosis. I have been making a good recovery, but this medication is no joke!! It brings one down really badly!!
I still haven't been able to quite get over the feeling that I am being punished for something. I was finally seeing the light after a lot of therapy for a severe depressive episode. When I got the diagnosis, it was just... And yes, the stigma is real.. Very real...
Keep healthy everyone. Let's fight this!!! 💪💪

[hyfy-trjy]

I have a copy of my Great Great Grandfather's old medical manuals....talking about stigma...in the section about pregnancy it was recommended that pregnant women "not stare at disfigured or diseased people for prolonged periods of time as it might impart on the developing fetus"

[mmead]

In my college biology class, my teacher had us each to a report on an infectious disease and I did TB. I was one of the last students to present and after class I found my teacher crying because her aunt had contracted TB on a trip to South Africa and later died from the infection. My report had hit close to home for her. I credit that project on shaping my world view on medicine and why I want to study infectious diseases because I want to see a world where TB is no longer a threat.