The Anti-tuberculosis Battle in Greece in the 1800s and 1900s

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs (known as pulmonary tuberculosis). Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family of Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis; it was discovered by Robert Koch in 1882. From about 1918 to 1939, tuberculosis in Greece was characterized as a social disease because it seemed to spread among the lower social classes, including displaced people living in refugee camps. The battle against tuberculosis involved private initiatives aimed at educating people on hygiene and establishing anti-tuberculosis institutions, such as sanatoria and preventoria.