Tuberculosis was the major cause of death among Alaska Native peoples during the first half of the twentieth century, with a crude death rate estimated at 810 per 100,000. Apart from a few medical articles, not much is known of the impact of the disease on the people. This paper reviews published articles, unpublished reports by government teachers, hospital records and other materials for several Native villages in western Alaska from the period 1900–50. These archival sources suggest that tuberculosis was prevalent at the start of the century, that tuberculosis morbidity and mortality increased until the public health efforts of the 1950s and '60s, and that highest mortality rates were found among women between the ages of 15 and 35. Traditional cultural practices that brought people together for fatiguing activities in confined areas may have contributed to the spread of the disease. Public health efforts of federal teachers aimed to improve personal hygiene, household cleanliness and ventilation. Their efforts were thwarted by environmental and economic factors, primarily the limited amount of wood. Ultimately, the comments of these public officials may have reflected more their own moral beliefs than the actual etiology of the disease.

中文翻译：

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阿拉斯加西部的结核病，1900-1950

结核病是 20 世纪上半叶阿拉斯加原住民死亡的主要原因，粗死亡率估计为每 100,000 人中有 810 人。除了一些医学文章外，人们对这种疾病对人们的影响知之甚少。本文回顾了 1900-50 年间阿拉斯加西部几个土著村庄的已发表文章、政府教师未发表的报告、医院记录和其他材料。这些档案资料表明，结核病在本世纪初流行，在 1950 年代和 60 年代的公共卫生努力之前，结核病的发病率和死亡率一直在增加，并且发现 15 至 35 岁的女性死亡率最高。将人们聚集在一起在狭窄区域进行疲劳活动的传统文化习俗可能促成了这种疾病的传播。联邦教师的公共卫生工作旨在改善个人卫生、家庭清洁和通风。他们的努力受到环境和经济因素的阻碍，主要是木材数量有限。归根结底，这些公职人员的评论可能更多地反映了他们自己的道德信仰，而不是疾病的实际病因。