![]() When Wyatt and Virgil Earp departed for Tombstone, Holliday stayed in Prescott until the cards cooled off. More: Whiskey Row in Prescott: Arizona's most legendary block When wracking coughs forced Holliday to close his dental practice, he began to earn his living at card tables in saloons, including an extended hot streak on Prescott’s Whiskey Row. Born in Georgia, he made his way west seeking a healthier climate. Doc Holliday: AZ's most notable TB caseĪrizona’s most notorious tubercular refugee was John Henry “Doc” Holliday, a dentist, gambler and gunfighter. ![]() Those increased numbers would eventually help Arizona achieve statehood in 1912. Tuberculosis may have lured more people to Arizona than mining, ranching or commerce. The influx of patients streaming west led to a population boom. And climate became one of the 5 Cs (along with copper, cotton, cattle and citrus) that formed the basis of Arizona’s early economy. In many cases, the Arizona Territory with its sun-kissed frontier - the very antithesis of the crowded industrialized cities of the East - became the destination of choice. Since there was no vaccine or medicine to combat the disease, doctors often encouraged patients to seek warm, dry climates to recover in or at least ease their symptoms. In this country it was commonly called consumption, for how it consumed the body. It was known as the “White Plague” in Europe. Tuberculosis, a potentially lethal bacterial disease, was the leading cause of death in Europe and the United States in the 1800s. While searching for a cure, social distancing is practiced.ĭespite the contemporary parallels, this story dates back more than a century. Widespread concern grows as the death toll mounts. It’s a story that sounds eerily familiar.Ī highly contagious disease ravages the lungs, causing a cough, fever, fatigue and night sweats. View Gallery: Arizona's tuberculosis history: Sanatoriums, Sunnyslope, photos
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