Tuberculosis is a highly infectious bacterial disease that can kill. It has been plaguing the human race for milennia, with Ancient Greek physicians documenting TB-like symptoms. However, it was not until 1882 that Dr. Robert Koch discovered and named the bacteria responsible: Mycobacterium tuberculosis. At the time of his discovery, TB was killing 1 in every 7 Americans, so his discovery was very well recieved. Throughout the 1600s, until the 1800s, TB caused 25 percent of all deaths in Europe. TB is spread via the air. A person can live for years harboring the TB bacteria without displaying symptoms, thus not being able to further the spread. This form of TB is called latent TB. It is estimated that 2 billion people worldwide have latent TB. Latent TB can change to active TB at any point, however, so it is important to be checked for signs of symptoms.
Speaking of symptoms, the symptoms of TB are as follows: coughing up blood, fatigue, night sweats, loss of appetite, coughing that lasts longer than 2 weeks, chest pains or pain when breathing. TB is especially dangerous if you are HIV positive. Because HIV weakens your immune system, TB can become active and wreak havoc on your respiratory system. On top of that, there are many strains of the bacterium that are severely antibiotic-resistant, due to frequent attempts to cure it. TB is one of the oldest infectious bacteria we have ever researched as a population, with the earliest findings coming from almost 3 million years ago.