The Royal Commission on Tuberculosis (1896–98), also known as the First Royal Commission on Tuberculosis was an early investigation into the

history of tuberculosis Throughout history, the disease tuberculosis has been variously known as consumption, phthisis, and the White Plague. It is generally accepted that the causative agent, ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' originated from other, more primitive organi ...

(TB). On 24 April 1890,

Lees Knowles Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet (16 February 1857 – 7 October 1928) was a British barrister, military historian and Conservative politician. Early life Knowles was the son of John Knowles and Elizabeth Lees of Green Bank, Oldham, Lancashir ...

, then parliamentary secretary to Charles Ritchie, President of the Local Government Board, brought a motion before the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

and was subsequently appointed to formulate the commission.TUBERCULOSIS IN CATTLE ''Parliament'', The Times 11 April 1891 In 1890 the German physician and microbiologist

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the Vibrio ...

developed

tuberculin Tuberculin, also known as purified protein derivative, is a combination of proteins that are used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. This use is referred to as the tuberculin skin test and is recommended only for those at high risk. Reliable admin ...

, a purified protein derivative of the bacteria. In 1891 The Veterinary College at

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern Europe, Northern Europe, European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres ...

produced seminal research using the Tuberculin test on 1,000 cattle.''Tuberculosis In European Countries'', The Times, 25 February 1895 and by 1891 the

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

was reporting a new perspective of inquiry: ''careful examination'' into the ''meat and milk inspection''; experimental research; and collection of statistics regarding the ''degree of infectivity of the products of tuberculous animals''. That year in Parliament, Knowles challenged

Henry Chaplin, 1st Viscount Chaplin Henry Chaplin, 1st Viscount Chaplin (22 December 1840 – 29 May 1923) was a British landowner, racehorse owner and Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 until 1916 when he was raised to the peerage. Backgroun ...

President of the Board of Agriculture The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889. ...

over amending the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act of 1878. By 1893 the enormity of experimental inquiry was becoming known while the Government resisted the clammer to compensate farmers for culls until a report was published. In May 1894 Mr Shaw-Lefevre reported that the report "may be shortly expected". Following the death of previous chairman Lord Basing in October 1894,

George Buchanan George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." ...

, was appointed to the position and by February 1895 Shaw-Lefevre was reporting "there are grounds for hoping no very long time will elapse before the report..." By March 1895, Buchanan remained chairman despite his bout of illness. On 25 April 1895 the report was published as a parliamentary paper.

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, "the greatest scourge of civilized life," was technically preventable. It was common knowledge that bacillus tuberculosis invaded almost every body organ. One in eight UK deaths was directly attributable to the disease. The recent advances could be categorised under heredity transmission; transmission by infected meat and milk; and preventative measures. As the work of the commission continued, by April 1897, Sir Herbert Maxwell held the chair and headed a continental visit which was arranged for committee members visiting Brussels, Cologne, Berlin and Leipzig. A further royal commission was set up in 1901 to ''Inquire into the Relations of Human and Animal Tuberculosis''. Sir

William Henry Power Sir William Henry Power, (15 December 1842 – 28 July 1916) was a British medical doctor. Biography He was born in London, and served as Assistant Medical Officer and Medical Inspector for General Sanitary Purposes of the Local Government Board ...

, Medical Officer for London, had formulated the theory of aerial conveyance of smallpox before chairing the Commission. A seminal recommendation of the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis was the creation of a permanent medical research body. The Medical Research Council was founded as the Medical Research Committee and Advisory Council in 1913, The mandate was not limited to tuberculosis, however, with its prime role being the distribution of medical research funds under the terms of the

National Insurance Act 1911 The National Insurance Act 1911 created National Insurance, originally a system of health insurance for industrial workers in Great Britain based on contributions from employers, the government, and the workers themselves. It was one of the foun ...

References

{{reflist Tuberculosis British Royal Commissions

See also

References