LE3 .A278 2007

2007

Perrins, Robert John

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

This study begins with a brief examination of the current state of the resurgence of tuberculosis, a disease which was previously thought to have been 'conquered', in the contemporary world, and then explores the general narrative history of the battle against the disease in Canada during the first half of the twentieth century, paying particular attention to the development of the sanatorium approach to tuberculosis treatment prior to the Second World War. The main focus of this study is the history of the Nova Scotia Sanatorium located in Kentville, for the period between the years of 1909-193 5, and particularly the work during this era of the institution's first medical director, Dr. Arthur F. Miller (1877-1965). By examining the various historic therapeutic approaches to treating tuberculosis, this thesis places the history of the Kentville institution's therapies firmly within the broader contexts of the histories of medicine and public health in the Maritimes during the early twentieth century prior to the advent of modern antibiotics. Starting with the earliest period of Miller's management of the sanatorium and a discussion of the method often described in contemporary literature as the 'Cure', this thesis then explores the adoption of the ineffective inoculation of tuberculosis patients with Tuberculin before finally analyzing some of the more invasive and risky surgical procedures that were undertaken at the sanatorium. In conclusion, a review of the relative ineffectiveness of the Nova Scotia Sanatorium on both a cost-per-patient basis and the facility's 'cure-rate' will be presented-evidence that clearly calls for a radical re-examination of the dominant local view that Dr. Miller played a pioneering and central role in the victory over tuberculosis on both the provincial and national stages. This thesis argues that neither the 'Cure' nor the radical surgeries were as important as the development of basic public health facilities and the general improvement in the population's general health and standard of living in bringing about a reduction in the region's rate of tuberculosis. This topic is deserving of scholarly attention not only because of the important role that the Kentville facility played in the local and provincial communities, but also because a better understanding of past efforts to control tuberculosis need to be examined as our health care system now finds itself attempting to deal with the new threat posed by antibiotic-resistant strains of the disease.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:1293