The first Aluminar for 2021 took place on Thursday March 4th via Zoom

Approximately 40 members and guests were present for an excellent talk by historian Dr Ross Jones.The meeting was opened by the President of the Alumni Ms Ruth Wraith OAM and the speaker was introduced by the Vice President Prof Jim Wilkinson AM.

Ross, who is a cousin of our former Secretary Dr Garry Warne, talked about the archeological evidence of tuberculosis dating back over thousands of years and its influence on mankind through the ages as well as its management in different time periods.

A discussion raised some interesting questions about the way in which TB sanatoria influenced patients and the development of treatment regimens – both ineffective and later effective. Much of the history of modern thoracic surgery and even cardiac surgery grew out of the evolution of TB sanatoria into chest hospitals after the arrival of effective antibiotics in the 1940s, which largely relieved such institutions from the need for longterm hospitalisation of patients with TB.

The emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of the bacterium threatens a new pandemic in the future?

A recording of the presentation is available for a  period of time:

https://tinyurl.com/rossjones-recording