Tuberculosis is known to have been one of the oldest diseases of mankind.
However, it is not known how prevalent it was before the advent of vital statistics in England in the middle of the seventeenth century. The same was true of Japan before official statistics began in 1900. Tuberculosis was thought to be particularly prevalent among upper-class daughters and highly talented young men. The Meiji Restoration introduced western scientific ideas including medical knowledge. Therefore, high morbidity and mortality resulted.