Note to Instructors

"The Silent Menace: TB in Twentieth Century Newfoundland" is appropriate for Social Studies and discussions on health. Students should be encouraged to think about the necessity of health services and the current erosion of these services. There are also many obvious comparisons between the history of tuberculosis and the current AIDS epidemic.

Students can also be asked to write their own conclusion to the fictional story of Tessie Murphy which opens this piece. How did her life turn out? Why?

Students may need help with some of the source material, especially the section taken from Captain Peter Troake. Some of the other source material uses slightly archaic language.

This piece will be especially effective when used in conjunction with "God Took Our Little Darlings: Child Health in Newfoundland 1860-1950s" also in booklet 5.

Issues for Discussion

1. The psychology of testing for TB. How did health care workers convince people to be tested? How successful were they?
   
   
2. The value of education in fighting an epidemic.
   
   
3. Social practices and customs in the spreading of a disease.
   
   
4. The high rate of TB in Newfoundland as compared with other countries.
   
   
5. The impact of isolation on the health of people in small communities.
   
   
6. The need for people to work together to solve problems.
   
   
7. Living conditions in the past as compared to today. The possibility of another Depression.
   
   
8. A comparison between the tuberculosis and AIDS epidemics.
   
   
9. The relationship between poverty and disease.
   
   
10. The presence of TB in the world today.