PAALLEGH-L Archives

Archiver > PAALLEGH > 2006-09 > 1158673119


From: "Lisa Lepore" <>
Subject: Re: [PAALLEGH] questions on "institutions"
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:38:39 -0400
References: <200609190007.k8J06x9n009785@ms-smtp-02.ohiordc.rr.com><450F36F6.2050307@epix.net><001701c6db89$f42bc6f0$314f480c@yourpa86z1i3g7>


Hi Richard -

I'm not a medical person - I only know what I read, and that
is that TB can be dormant or active. Only the active is contagious.
About 10% of the dormant can turn to the active type.

Back then, health officials didn't really know what to do about
TB because there were no antibiotics of course, so no way to
treat it.

It was thought that fresh air would cure it. By the end of the 19th
and beginning of the 20th centuries in this country, the TB
sanitariums
started up as way to segregate the TB patients and hopefully stop
the spread of the disease in the general population.

You should try to read some newspapers from that area around
the time of your grandmother's death. It wouldn't surprise me to
find that there was a growing problem with TB in the asylum.

With such little medical knowledge about this disease, how could they
know she didn't contract it there? Of course she could have been
in the 10% who become active from dormant, but in 1907 I don't
think they had these statistics.

Maybe I'm cynical, but it sounds like political spin to me.....

Lisa

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard" <>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 9:21 PM
Subject: Re: [PAALLEGH] questions on "institutions"


> My grand mother Marie Beche Zerla was in Mayview Insane Asylum for 4
years
> and her death certificate in 1907 states that she did not contact
TB, the
> reason of her death, there. Does TB remain dormant and can it
infect others
> while in the dormant stage?
>
> Richaard
>


This thread: