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A review by chrisiant
The Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped History by Vidya Krishnan
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This was fascinating and infuriating.
There were connections to so many subjects: patent policy, urban planning, failures of the private health care system, colonialism and ongoing exploitation of the global South, vampire stories, and on.
I wish there had been one straightforward chapter on the pathology - I kept looking back to see if I’d missed it. I was surprised to learn that TB can infect the brain, bones, and kidneys as well as the lungs. I found it bizarre and upsetting how much shame and stigma is associated with TB, when we treat cancer victims like heroes. One of the many upsetting things I learned about what folks with TB have to navigate, from judgy neighbors to Byzantine health care systems to global inequality and resource hoarding.
There were connections to so many subjects: patent policy, urban planning, failures of the private health care system, colonialism and ongoing exploitation of the global South, vampire stories, and on.
I wish there had been one straightforward chapter on the pathology - I kept looking back to see if I’d missed it. I was surprised to learn that TB can infect the brain, bones, and kidneys as well as the lungs. I found it bizarre and upsetting how much shame and stigma is associated with TB, when we treat cancer victims like heroes. One of the many upsetting things I learned about what folks with TB have to navigate, from judgy neighbors to Byzantine health care systems to global inequality and resource hoarding.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts