Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

Of the nonfiction titles that we considered for our book club, Everything is Tuberculosis sounded the most intriguing and it was written by a well-known author, who also happens to be one of my favorites. This is an interesting and, at time, a somewhat infuriating discussion of the deadliest disease to affect humankind. 

Although Green is most notable for his young adult award winning books, he has become an advocate of global health initiatives. In August of 2019 as a member of the Partners in Health. He traveled to Sierra Leone wher he met Henry Reider, a teenager, who has battled tuberculosis  through peaks and valleys of treatment. It is through Henry that Green relates the importance of fighting this disease. 

The title refers to how health and disease are implicated in so much of our culture. He ties Pasadena, California, Stetson hats, Adirondack chairs, and the start of World War I to the disease. Henry's story began when he was six and showed signs of weakness, experienced weight loss and night sweats- all signs that pointed to tuberculosis. But the initial tests came back negative and accordingly, he wasn't treated. This happens so much of the time and is a reason that the disease spreads so virulently, even though it is a bacteria. Once the diagnosis was made, the treatment was started, the regimen is brutal, especially in a very poor, country. The mixture of drugs need to be taken on a very regulated schedule and on a full stomach. With so many in 3rd world countries not having sufficient food, the drugs are ineffective. 

Green includes many statistics to show how tuberculosis is spread, goes undetected, and is prone to drug resistance. After years of treatment, when nearly on his death bed, Henry got lucky and has survived and is now an advocate for treatment of the disease with his own YouTube channel. 

The message that Green impresses on the reader is that the challenge of global health is "the cure is where the disease is not, and the disease is where the cure is not.” If tuberculosis affected the rich, a detection and a cure would be on the horizon. Pharmaceutical companies have inflated the cost of medication, to make it nearly impossible for those in poverty areas to afford it. The World Health Organization has been involved in securing money for some of those areas, but it is not enough. USAID also worked on providing medication, but that aid was pulled when the agency was terminated. Green calls the world to action in eliminating not only the disease but the stigma of it.

An excellent and thought-provoking read.