The Battle Against TB in Newfoundland

The Beginning

In 1899 the population of Newfoundland was 212,000. In that year 655 people died of tuberculosis. This was the highest death rate in North America.⁴ It caused a lot of public concern. But it would still be a few years before the fight against TB finally began.

In 1907, the Honourable John Harvey took the first steps to form an association to fight tuberculosis. In February, 1908, he organized a meeting in St. John's. From that meeting the Newfoundland Association for the Prevention of Consumption was formed. Soon there were 932 members: 141 from St. John's and 791 from the outports. 23 were doctors, 66 were members of the clergy and 113 were teachers. The association formed branches throughout Newfoundland. They sent out information all across the island to help educate people about TB.

In August, 1908, a teachers convention was held in St. John's. Over 500 teachers attended. During the five day conference they were given a great deal of information about TB. The teachers then went back to their home towns to educate people about the disease.

In 1909, a law was passed that required doctors to report cases of TB to the "Medical Health Office" at St. John's:

Neglect to do so involves a penalty of not less than 10 or more than 40 dollars. A fee of 30 cents is paid for each case of notification. These reports are to be entered in a register provided for the purpose, and not open to public inspection.

Doctors must also notify the death, or removal from any house of any tubercular person in order that the premises may be disinfected.

Burials are not permitted unless a certificate of cause of death is handed in.⁵

The government wanted this law to keep track of the number of TB cases. But many people worried about how they would be treated if people knew they had TB. Some were afraid of being quarantined.⁶ It is not clear whether these rules were actually carried out by doctors.