TITLE:
Secular Trends in Tuberculosis during the Second Epidemiological Transition: A Swiss Perspective
AUTHORS:
Kara L. Holloway, Renata Henneberg, Miguel de Barros Lopes, Kaspar Staub, Karl Link, Frank Rühli, Maciej Henneberg
KEYWORDS:
Tuberculosis; Second Epidemiological Transition; Switzerland
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Anthropology,
Vol.3 No.2,
May
15,
2013
ABSTRACT: The second epidemiologic transition is
defined as “the age of receding pandemics”, wherein mortality declines, life expectancy increases, and
population growth occurs. The major causes of death also shifted from
predominantly acute infectious diseases to degenerative and “man-made” diseases
(Omran, 1983). The aim of this study was to determine the timing of the
transition in Zürich (Switzerland) and to investigate patterns of tuberculosis mortality during this
period. This is one of the first studies to specifically investigate the timing of the second
transition in Zürich, Switzerland. The data sources for this study were Swiss
records of mortality from the Staatsarchiv (Canton Archives), Stadtarchiv (City
Archives) and a published volume of State Statistics (Historische Statistik der
Schweiz). The changes in mortality through time were addressed for all causes
of death in the city ofZürichfor the years 1893 to 1933 that is, the time including the second
epidemiological transition. After 1933 the structure of the mortality data collection changed as the responsibility was
transferred away from the canton archives. Mortality from tuberculosis was then examined in greater detail
and compared with changes in living standards as well as population density
occurring at the time.