[Social aspects in fighting against tuberculosis]

In 1884 Robert Koch postulated in his essay on "The Etiology of Tuberculosis" favouring moments for the settling of tubercle bacilli to explain the predisposition and diversified course of tuberculosis in grown-up persons. Under the conception "disposition" he also subsumised exogen factors beside the internal conditions and proclaimed that all steps undertaken against tuberculosis should take into account the social conditions. Only to effect the treatment in a sanatorium for such patients, it is also necessary to care for their families and for the patients themselves after they left the sanatorium. Complex fighting programmes developed according to the thorough analysis of the social surroundings, including the influences of occupation, income, expenses for food, housing and clothing, the legislation with regard to the health law and education to health duty as well as the level of medical science. Briefly, there was stated that the tuberculosis mortality depends on the standard of life. From the war-epidemiology of tuberculosis at least 3 parallel curves resulted, decisively influencing the mortality, the curves of infection and charging with work as well as the curve of nourishment. So the tuberculosis was characterised as a social disease. No wonder that social appearances--and war is one of them--stamp the special picture. As a model of applied knowledge, the strategy of fighting tuberculosis in the GDR and its outstanding results are discussed. After the antituberculosis chemotherapy was introduced, which shortens the duration of the disease and removes its chronic relapsing course, the significance of the social factors, however, decreased, but concerning the situation in the Third World, their knowledge is of great importance and not only of historical interest.