Airborne Transmission of Tubercle Bacilli (USPHS, 1966)

This program illustrates by means of animation and live action the airborne transmission pattern of tubercle bacilli and the study used to verify this pattern. Measures effective for the control of TB infection are also presented. The mechanics involved in the airborne transmission of the tubercle bacilli are traced from the expiration of the bacilli by the tuberculosis patient, through the transmission of these bacilli in drops of mucus, and on to the subsequent inspiration of the nuclei, which are smaller than five microns in diameter, by a susceptible person. A four-year study initiated in 1956 at the Veterans Hospital in Baltimore to verify this transmission pattern is then illustrated in detail. In this study, the exhausted air from the six-patient pilot ward was circulated through an animal exposure chamber. The number of infections which occurred among the test animals indicates that the tubercle bacilli were present in the air. The film concludes by listing some of the measures effective for blocking this infection: air ventilation, air disinfection and drug treatment with PAS (para aminosalicylic acid), isoniazid tablets and streptomycin sulfate solution.

Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/7601904A.

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