The spread of tuberculosis in the student milieu of Russian emigrants in Czechoslovakia in the 1920s: statistics, control measures, outcomes

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the health status of emigrant students from Russia who lived in the Republic of Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. Special attention is paid to the spread of tuberculosis among students. The author gives the information about the ratio of sick students, severe cases, and lethal outcomes. It has been pointed out that death from tuberculosis accounted for 50% of all lethal outcomes. The data obtained gave grounds to draw a conclusion that the incidence rate of tuberculosis among students was high. There were cases of tuberculosis of bones and joints, the presence of malignant tumors. The author traced the relationship between a student’s academic performance and his illness. The article describes the methods used by the medical commission to reduce the number of severe cases: summer sanatoriums, colonies for ill students. The paper also describes control measures taken both at the government level and at the level of public activity of the emigrant community. The Committee on Tuberculosis Control in the Society of Russian Doctors in the Republic of Czechoslovakia made a contribution to the cause of preserving the life and health of students. The paper is based on archival materials from the records of the Committee on Education of Russian and Ukrainian Students in the Republic of Czechoslovakia in the National Archives of the Czech Republic.