The silent terror that consumed so many

FOR much of the last century in Ireland, TB was the AIDS of its day, a scourge that ravaged the country.

Consumption was the layman’s succinct name for the disease; graphically describing the effects of untreated tuberculosis – the victim “consumed” by weight loss and breathlessness. It consumed the lives of thousands in Ireland and is still a voracious killer in many countries.

Survivors can still recall the silent terror. A child develops the disease, then a brother contracts it, and his friend a few doors down is next.