Y Pla Gwyn

-New York, icon of wealth

-and success...

-..leads the way in all senses.

-But amid the affluence,

-the city wages a daily battle...

-..against one of mankind's

-oldest enemies.

-This enemy flourishes

-among the poor and the homeless...

-..not just in New York

-but all over the world.

-It kills two million people

-each year.

-There's a new victim every second.

-Skin colour, belief, affluence or

-social position count for nothing.

-This can attack everyone.

-We in Wales were familiar

-with this enemy.

-It's been the biggest killer

-in recent centuries.

-It spread through the country

-causing grief and sorrow.

-It's now back among us once again.

-This enemy

-is known by several names.

-Decay, phthisis, consumption,

-tuberculosis, TB.

-But the pale faces

-of the victims...

-..gave rise to the disease's most

-chilling name - the white plague.

-TB has been with us for centuries.

-The ancient Egyptians

-were familiar with it.

-When a person died in Egypt...

-..the body was buried

-in a particular way...

-..to prevent the putrefaction

-and dismemberment of the corpse.

-That's what happened

-to this little girl's corpse.

-She died 2,300 years ago,

-at the age of eight.

-X-rays of the body

-reveal a curve in the spine.

-This often happens to people who

-suffer tuberculosis of the bones.

-TB has left its mark

-on rural Wales, too.

-Sanatoria and isolated hospitals...

-..remain as memorials

-to thousands of sufferers...

-..who fell victim

-to this cruel sickness.

-It changed lives for ever.

-Years ago, there was no treatment

-and people died.

-It was known as decay,

-and everyone feared it.

-People knew that sufferers

-very often did not get better...

-..after catching this cruel disease.

-Cruel, because sufferers

-grew thinner and thinner.

-Consumption - people were consumed

-before your eyes.

-Once you heard

-that someone had TB...

-..you were, more or less,

-talking about their death.

-They died almost inevitably.

-It was as bad as cancer,

-maybe worse.

-It was only at the end

-of the 19th century...

-..that it was understood

-that TB was caused by bacteria.

-Strict regulations were introduced

-to prevent bacteria from spreading.

-Glamorganshire introduced a law...

-..forbidding people

-from spitting in public.

-Offenders were fined 2 on the spot.

-But poverty was the biggest problem.

-Parents and children

-often slept in the same room.

-If the father caught the disease,

-his wife would catch it...

-..and so would the children

-who shared the bedroom.

-The whole family would succumb

-and die.

-The effects of the disease

-were pitiful.

-TB changed the lives of families.

-Mam was expecting

-my little brother.

-She went to the doctor and he said

-she was seriously ill with TB.

-She had to go to a sanatorium

-in Tregaron.

-My brother was born on May 15th...

-..and Mam died in August.

-My grandparents -

-my mother's father and mother...

-..had to take me and my sister in.

-They couldn't cope

-with the baby as well.

-So an aunt looked after my brother.

-The bacteria that cause TB

-are cunning.

-They grow slowly inside body cells

-that fight infection...

-..and settle

-in cavities in the lungs.

-As the body fights the disease...

-..a wall of dead cells

-forms around the bacteria.

-This is what causes

-the white shadows on X-rays.

-When TB affects the lungs,

-it can spread from person to person.

-You might expect...

-..that densely populated areas

-would have suffered most...

-..when the disease was at its most

-prevalent early in the last century.

-But more people suffered from TB

-in rural Wales.

-We tend to think that the

-southern coalfield areas...

-..were the poorest parts of Wales.

-But these areas

-were quite prosperous.

-That's why thousands of people

-flocked there.

-Rural areas were very much poorer.

-If you look at the statistics...

-..TB deaths seem to double

-as you go further west.

-They seem to imply

-that tuberculosis...

-..was a disease of the windy,

-wet areas of western Britain.

-The only treatment for TB

-was to get away from wind and rain.

-The Germans came up

-with the idea of sanatoria.

-These were hospitals offering

-fresh air and healthy diets.

-They soon spread all over Europe.

-Today, the old sanatorium in Davos,

-Switzerland, is a luxury hotel.

-The rich and famous came here

-to recover from the white plague.

-This is where Thomas Mann

-wrote 'The Magic Mountain'...

-..about the mountain that cured TB.

-Wales's first sanatorium -

-Plas Pendyffryn, Penmaenmawr...

-..opened in 1900.

-Soon, there began a campaign for a

-sanatorium in every Welsh county...

-..led by a new movement, the WNMA.

-The WNMA was one of the

-most significant movements...

-..to spring up in Wales

-at the start of the 20th century.

-It was a memorial association

-in tribute to King Edward VII.

-Edward VII had visited a TB centre

-before he became king...

-..and had asked if patients could

-be cured, why it wasn't happening.

-When Edward died, David Davies,

-the MP for Montgomeryshire...

-..was asked to raise a memorial

-to him.

-The Lord Lieutenants came together

-to plan a memorial.

-But David Davies said that something

-to help people with tuberculosis...

-..would be a more fitting tribute

-than a memorial.

-David Davies, Llandinam,

-was famous throughout Wales.

-He was the best person to lead

-this new national association.

-At that time, few people could

-afford to contribute 150,000...

-..to launch the campaign.

-Not long afterwards, in July 1920...

-..the WNMA invited

-King George V and Queen Mary...

-..to open its first two sanatoria

-in Wales.

-The north Wales sanatorium

-in Llangwyfan...

-..and the other at Bronllys

-near Brecon in the south.

-They would provide free treatment

-for TB sufferers.

-Llangwyfan's 300 beds and the 400

-at Bronllys were soon filled.

-The biggest sanatoria in the country

-couldn't control the white plague.

-During the 1930s and '40s, sanatoria

-were packed with TB sufferers.

-The only treatments available

-were rest and good food...

-..but these were not to be had

-in many homes.

-We hear of four or five people

-sharing a bedroom.

-There was no heat and the food

-contained little nutrition.

-Things like medical services

-were a lot worse in rural areas...

-..than in industrial areas.

-Put these together

-and you can see...

-..why Wales was a black spot

-in the disease's history...

-..particularly its rural areas.

-In offering rest, good food

-and fresh air...

-..sanatoria helped to strengthen

-people's bodies...

-..to fight the bacteria.

-No drugs were available.

-Sufferers often didn't realise

-there was much wrong with them.

-TB has symptoms similar to flu.

-Some people didn't take much notice.

-But there are other symptoms.

-I didn't feel ill but I was tired.

-I was terribly tired.

-I also lost weight.

-I'd been sweating so much...

-..that they had to burn

-my mattress at home.

-It had become so damp,

-it wasn't worth keeping.

-Glenys Jones spent a year

-at Llangwyfan.

-She hasn't been back there

-since 1950.

-It's now a residential home.

-Manager Bob Ellis

-took her around the buildings.

-A lot has changed

-but the memories flowed back.

-All of us got on well

-with each other.

-I still write to two of the girls.

-This is where I met my husband.

-A friend and I went for a walk

-to a cemetery one Saturday.

-We stopped to talk to two men.

-We met them when we could

-and we'd write letters.

-I remember him sending me

-a box of chocolates!

-Patients at Bronllys, near Talgarth,

-have similar memories.

-This was the domain

-of the famous Sister O'Shea.

-Max Evans and Ryan Peregrine

-have been lifelong friends...

-..after meeting here as TB patients

-in the '40s.

-You could see Mynydd Troed

-from the window.

-I saw this in all weathers

-and seasons.

-They said I'd be here

-for no more than three months.

-I went in and I saw people

-who'd been there for a year...

-..or 18 months,

-and I started wondering.

-I didn't think

-they'd told me everything.

-People were dying in the next ward.

-There was one man -

-I can show you a picture of him.

-I'd played cards with him

-that evening.

-He wanted one more game

-but I wanted to go to bed.

-Next morning, I called over to him,

-"How are you, Emrys?"

-No answer - he'd gone

-in the middle of the night.

-In the 1930s and '40s...

-..it's clear that Wales was one of

-the worst places in Europe for TB.

-But some areas suffered worse

-than others.

-The slate quarrying areas of Gwynedd

-weren't very well off.

-Unlike the south,

-there was no cheap coal...

-..so houses were colder and damper.

-The area around Caernarfon

-was one of the main TB black spots.

-This slate quarrying, rural area was

-among the worst in Europe for TB.

-There were whole families with TB.

-People lived in small houses

-and they shared bedrooms.

-TB could spread easily.

-The situation was so bad in Wales...

-..that one report suggested a link

-between the number of TB cases...

-..and Welsh people's

-narrow lifestyles!

-Dr Chalk wrote a report on TB in

-Caernarfonshire in the early '30s.

-He thought that Welshness

-and this disease went hand-in-hand.

-Those areas where nearly

-all the people spoke Welsh...

-..were, in his opinion,

-the worst areas.

-But to jump to that conclusion

-is rather contrived.

-Doctors were worried about TB of

-the lungs as it was so contagious.

-People were afraid to go near TB

-sufferers in case they caught it.

-Neighbours would become strangers...

-..and friends

-would sometimes keep away.

-No wonder some sufferers

-refused to face the facts...

-..and talk about the disease.

-It was crucial for people

-to receive the correct information.

-In the middle of the last century...

-..about 20 million people in Britain

-went to the cinema every week.

-The cinema was the ideal place

-to teach people how to avoid TB.

-Intensive research

-and powerful microscopes...

-..have revealed the cause

-of tuberculosis.

-The WNMA produced a film in Welsh

-and English called 'The Crusade'.

-But more and more beds were needed

-for TB sufferers.

-Craig y Nos, the former home

-of singer Adelina Patti...

-..in the Swansea Valley, was bought

-and converted into a sanatorium...

-..for women and children.

-The grim castle frightened

-12-year-old Mair Harris.

-A big car came to fetch me

-from home.

-Mam and I sat in the back.

-I remember

-we drove through Ammanford...

-..and over the mountain

-to Craig y Nos.

-We arrived at this castle.

-There was a high wall

-around the castle.

-The big gates were open.

-I told Mam

-I didn't want to stay there.

-We went through the gates

-and stopped in front of the castle.

-I stood there and heard the gates

-closing behind me.

-I felt I'd never

-get out of there again.

-I had to stay there

-for nearly two years.

-This is Mair's first visit

-in 53 years to the old sanatorium.

-Things have changed.

-The wards are still there

-but the castle's being renovated.

-It's going to be a hotel

-and call centre.

-Roy, Mair's husband, is visiting the

-old sanatorium for the first time.

-Mair is happy to show him around.

-This was the bathroom.

-I was a child, and I felt I was

-losing touch with home and family.

-I was on my own in a strange place.

-I didn't know anyone.

-It wasn't a nice experience.

-The first Saturday and Sunday

-of each month...

-..were the only days

-when people could visit.

-Two hours on Saturday

-and two hours on Sunday.

-We had to wait a whole month

-to see our visitors again.

-They came in an old Morris 8,

-whatever the weather.

-They even came when it was snowing.

-If they couldn't come, you wouldn't

-see them for two months.

-I did feel homesick sometimes.

-I felt I wanted to go home to see

-familiar places and old friends.

-But you got used to it and learned

-to live with it - you had to.

-I had no choice.

-I had to live with it.

-Many children lived with the effects

-of TB for years.

-Not all of them had infected lungs.

-TB can affect many different organs,

-including the bones.

-I started getting this pain

-in my lower back.

-Then I noticed that one leg

-was a bit shorter than the other.

-I had TB at the base of my spine.

-I was given a plaster bed

-in Glan Ely.

-A plaster cast was made of my body,

-in two halves - front and back.

-I'd lie on my back

-for three weeks...

-..then I'd be turned

-on to my belly for a week...

-..to give my kidneys

-a chance to work properly.

-I had to endure that for a year.

-The bacteria that cause TB

-in bones and other organs...

-..enter the body in food.

-TB of the lungs enters by breathing.

-But the bacteria are very similar.

-The disease is just as serious

-whichever part is infected.

-The germ was present in milk.

-It could also be found in meat

-but most often in milk.

-You drank infected milk and the

-germ would affect different parts...

-..the bones, the kidneys,

-the bowels.

-It affected my lungs.

-But some people had it

-in the glands in their necks...

-..others had it in their backs.

-Two girls, Shirley and Joan, had to

-lie in plaster casts all the time.

-They were here for about five years,

-unable to move for long periods.

-Since the late 18th century...

-..scientists had known that the

-TB bacteria could live in milk.

-A law was passed in 1926 to allow

-vets to inspect dairy herds...

-..and to prevent the sale of milk

-from infected animals.

-Cattle showing signs of TB

-would be slaughtered...

-..and the farmer

-would receive compensation.

-The same scheme exists today.

-Recently, there's been

-an increase in TB...

-..among dairy cattle on Welsh farms.

-The situation is causing farmers

-and doctors a lot of concern.

-Pasteurising milk -

-heating it for while...

-..kills the bacteria.

-But people weren't keen

-on pasteurisation...

-..and many argued that it impaired

-the quality of the milk.

-During World War II, people used

-powdered milk instead of fresh milk.

-It lasted longer.

-This was a serious threat

-to the large milk companies.

-So they started pasteurising milk...

-..which killed bacteria,

-allowing fresh milk to last longer.

-Now it could compete

-with powdered milk in the shops.

-It was the fear of loss of business

-that led to milk pasteurisation...

-..not a desire to do away with TB.

-TB was still prevalent

-in the 1940s and '50s.

-Fresh air was the most efficient

-treatment...

-..and sanatoria were located

-to make the most of the weather.

-Ward doors and windows

-were kept open.

-Anyone who came into the ward

-to see us...

-..must have been freezing.

-Every window was open.

-Fresh air was an important part

-of the treatment.

-It was so cold.

-We had no hot water bottles,

-no heating, even.

-Some left their teeth

-to soak overnight...

-..and they'd be frozen

-the following morning!

-It was a hard winter.

-These doors led to a verandah.

-They were always open.

-The verandah ran

-from that corner to there.

-There were about ten beds

-on the verandah.

-It was lovely here in summer

-but not so nice in winter.

-We had waterproof sheeting

-over our beds.

-The snow would fall on the sheeting.

-We could scoop up snow...

-..and throw snowballs

-at the person in the next bed!

-It was very cold.

-I wore a cap, scarf, gloves,

-three cardigans...

-..bedsocks,

-two or three hot water bottles...

-..and we hid under the blankets.

-That's what we did most days.

-Rest was another important element.

-But it was difficult

-for young people to stay in bed...

-..and not move,

-sometimes for weeks or months.

-There was nothing to do

-but lie in bed.

-Nothing to do but eat well.

-They were supposed to rest for an

-hour every morning and afternoon.

-No-one was allowed to walk around.

-They had to stay in bed

-and not move.

-No trolleys were allowed in.

-The nurses weren't allowed

-back and forth.

-Patients had to rest.

-What sticks in my mind

-is having to stay quietly in bed.

-I couldn't move or walk or run.

-That's what sticks in my mind.

-To stop patients

-from escaping from sanatoria...

-..staff had to find something

-to keep people occupied in bed.

-They had some activities...

-..like basket-making, painting,

-things like that.

-That helped pass the time.

-They had a snooker table.

-They played snooker and cards.

-Anything to pass the time.

-We'd have a session of Housey -

-we didn't call it Bingo then.

-Everyone would contribute

-sixpence...

-..that's two and a half pence today

-- in the kitty.

-We played Housey

-and that helped pass the time.

-We had school for two hours

-every morning and afternoon.

-Then I'd read.

-And I built models -

-I did a lot of that.

-And jigsaws, of course.

-We played any game you can think of.

-We all had different games

-and we played those.

-We had a factory line going

-in the first eight beds.

-One cut out the lampshades,

-another made the frames, and so on.

-Another put the frills on.

-A shop in Llanelli sold them.

-We made a few shillings.

-We worked too hard, really!

-Doctors developed surgical

-treatments to help patients.

-Artificial pneumothorax

-was one of them.

-The lung was punctured

-with a needle to collapse it.

-Then air would be pumped

-into the chest...

-..to prevent the lung from working.

-This allowed the lung

-to heal much faster.

-A simple treatment,

-but it had to be repeated regularly.

-You had refills every week.

-You went and stood in a queue.

-Then you went into this room

-and lay down on the bed.

-The doctor would clean the needle

-over a flame...

-..and poke wire through the needle

-to clear it.

-Everyone got the same needle.

-There was a pressure gauge

-to one side.

-You could watch that.

-They did that every week.

-But some surgical treatments

-were more serious.

-Ryan experienced

-nearly every treatment...

-..during his five years

-in sanatoria.

-Thoracoplasty made the biggest

-impression on him and others.

-What they did was take out ribs

-from under the shoulder blade.

-They took four out the first time

-and three the second time.

-When you started getting better

-after the first operation...

-..you had to go

-and have it done again.

-It was an unpleasant operation.

-I went for the first operation.

-They opened you up

-from here to here...

-..and they cut out four ribs.

-I had to go back a fortnight later.

-They opened up the wound again

-and took our three more ribs.

-That meant

-that the two upper lobes...

-..collapsed, as they called it.

-As the demand for more beds

-increased...

-..a smart new sanatorium was built

-by the sea outside Cardiff.

-Sully Sanatorium

-was originally planned...

-..to provide 300 beds for patients

-from Cardiff and south east Wales...

-..who needed long-term care.

-Before long, Sully became a centre

-of surgical expertise...

-..in the battle to treat TB.

-Every bed in Sully

-had a view of the sea.

-It was a beautiful place.

-All they used at Sully

-was the knife.

-The end product was the knife.

-Sully came to specialise

-in treating children with TB.

-It became evident that TB

-in organs other than the lungs...

-..was a lot more common

-among children than adults.

-But all the research, developments

-and new treatments...

-..failed to reduce the number

-of people suffering from TB.

-Some said the situation was worse

-in Wales than in England.

-An inquiry was called for.

-In Wales, county

-and district councils...

-..were responsible for housing

-standards, medical services...

-..and so on.

-The Memorial Association

-was responsible for treating TB.

-A 1938 report commissioned under the

-chairmanship of Clement Davies...

-..the MP for Montgomeryshire...

-..looked at why tuberculosis

-was still so common.

-It concluded that despite the

-sanatoria's praiseworthy efforts...

-..the original problem

-of inadequate housing remained...

-..especially in rural Wales

-and in quarrying areas.

-The food people ate

-was also inadequate.

-Also, public services

-in those areas were worse...

-..than in areas perceived

-as being less favourable...

-..such as Rhondda and Merthyr.

-Clement Davies visited some houses

-in Newborough, Anglesey...

-..and said, "They are worse than

-the native quarter of Shanghai."

-Even in the '40s, there weren't

-enough beds in the sanatoria.

-The number of new cases fell as

-living standards gradually improved.

-Despite this, there were thousands

-of new cases every year.

-There was a list of patients waiting

-for vacant beds at sanatoria.

-But there were hopes of more beds

-to alleviate the situation...

-..this time,

-on the outskirts of Swansea.

-Morriston Hospital

-was the first Welsh hospital...

-..to have wards set aside

-specifically for TB patients.

-Over the period of one week

-in 1942...

-..the hospital

-admitted 100 TB patients.

-It had specialist doctors, whose

-names patients never forgot...

-..such as Dr Danino.

-Dr Danino was known as Dr Dan.

-I remember him coming back

-from his holidays.

-He was wearing a suit, and he walked

-in to see one of the patients.

-He was concerned about him.

-He was a very kind man.

-A new surgeon came to Morriston.

-Mr Cyril Evans.

-They said he did five operations

-every day.

-One of the wards at Morriston

-is now named after him.

-The next development in TB's history

-was revolutionary.

-Mobile X-ray units were established.

-They travelled around and could

-examine 100 people per hour.

-At last, the disease

-could be detected...

-..before it became established

-in the body.

-The mobile X-ray units also proved

-critical for Lord David Davies.

-David Davies established

-these mobile X-rays, too.

-You just stood in front

-of a screen.

-With luck, a postcard would arrive

-a few days later...

-..saying "OK today."

-If the X-ray

-wasn't absolutely clear...

-..they asked you to come back.

-People knew well enough

-what that meant.

-On the day

-the scheme was launched...

-..in front of Sully Hospital,

-Cardiff...

-..David Davies was the first

-to stand in front of the screen.

-It was discovered

-he was seriously ill...

-..and he was dead within six months.

-Such a shame.

-The mobile X-ray units

-visited schools and workplaces...

-..and discovered many sufferers

-who showed no symptoms of TB.

-The mass X-rays arrived

-in big caravans.

-Everyone in the school

-had to have an X-ray.

-Then a week later...

-..I had a letter saying

-I had to go to Llandudno Hospital...

-..to see Dr Glyn Jones.

-He told Mam I had tuberculosis.

-It was a killer.

-But before long, TB

-came up against a new enemy.

-By the mid 1900s,

-Wales had so many TB sufferers...

-..that some of them had to go abroad

-for treatment.

-The Davos sanatoria in Switzerland

-were still the favourites.

-My brother, Ken,

-came out of the army...

-..and he was sent to a sanatorium

-in Davos, Switzerland.

-They had spare beds there

-so that's where he was sent.

-He had bed rest and fresh air.

-Switzerland was supposed to be

-a healthier place than Wales...

-..but I don't believe that.

-But there was a new development

-on the horizon.

-For the first time ever, doctors saw

-patients recovering completely...

-..thanks to something

-rather stronger than fresh air.

-Doctors and scientists worldwide...

-..had for many years been searching

-for a drug to treat TB.

-Many had seemed promising

-but had failed to deliver.

-In the late '40s,

-stunning news arrived from America.

-I remember the doctor

-walking into the ward...

-..and saying, "Well, lads,

-I've got good news for you.

-"They've discovered

-the cure for TB."

-Miraculous, revolutionary, amazing -

-thus was streptomycin described.

-It was the first effective drug

-in the battle against TB.

-Suddenly, patients

-who would have died...

-..were leaving the sanatoria

-completely cured.

-Doctors organised clinical trials

-for streptomycin.

-But this antibiotic worked so well,

-the trials were called off...

-..so that everyone who needed it

-could receive it.

-They tried it out on us.

-They experimented on us.

-As it happened, it worked well.

-I took it every day for over a year.

-I was lucky to be there

-when streptomycin came out.

-I don't think I'd have survived

-without it.

-A child came in, from somewhere

-in the Carmarthen area.

-His parents were with him.

-He was unconscious.

-He evidently had TB meningitis.

-Meningitis is bad enough

-in any form.

-But there was no recovery

-from TB meningitis at that time.

-There was a lot of talk

-about streptomycin back then.

-It wasn't available everywhere.

-Anyway, streptomycin was sent

-by train from London.

-He received an injection

-quite late that night.

-I went to see him

-early the next morning.

-He hadn't moved at all.

-He had another injection

-that morning and in the evening.

-There was an amazing difference

-the following morning.

-The boy was talking

-and looking around.

-One hand was paralysed.

-Apart from that, he was fine.

-The father and mother

-and the doctors were delighted.

-Streptomycin led the way....

-..and soon,

-other drugs became available.

-They may have killed TB...

-..but they weren't all popular

-with patients.

-It was called PAS. It was nasty.

-It wasn't at all nice to take.

-The dreaded PAS, as they called it.

-It was a terrible thing to take.

-You took it in liquid form.

-It was nasty to take.

-I remember some of the boys...

-..when they brought this round

-on a tray...

-..some of the boys vomited

-just at the sight of it.

-But thanks to the new drugs...

-..people who had been bedridden

-for months...

-..could walk around

-and enjoy life once more.

-Doctors had to assess

-how well people were doing.

-Grades were introduced.

-B1 meant bed.

-They washed you

-and did everything for you.

-Everything that needed doing

-was done in bed.

-B2s were allowed to walk

-to the toilet.

-You could wash once a day

-in the bathroom...

-..otherwise you stayed in bed.

-B3s were allowed to walk around...

-..and do what they wanted

-when they wanted.

-For an hour a day at first,

-then two hours...

-..then three hours, then four hours,

-when you could get dressed.

-You got up and you walked about

-half a mile morning and afternoon.

-That was after I spent

-a year in bed.

-Then I was allowed to do

-some weeding...

-..progressing

-to digging the garden.

-We worked quite hard.

-We ate the produce

-that was grown there.

-In one of the grades...

-..you went out to the garden

-where the flowers grew...

-..to do the weeding.

-The superintendent, Jock Watson,

-was a very dour Scotsman.

-He said the same thing to everyone.

-"Take a small tool

-and go up to the nurses' home...

-..and do some work in a bed!"

-At last, people were getting better,

-and nothing could hold them back.

-They could be mischievous, when

-allowed out of bed for eight hours.

-They wore their own clothes

-instead of pyjamas...

-..and they could walk freely

-around the ward.

-If it was visiting time

-and someone didn't have a visitor...

-..it wasn't unknown

-for them to slip out.

-There was one man, Idwal,

-who was B1.

-B1s weren't supposed

-to leave their beds.

-He'd discovered we were going out...

-..and he was coming with us.

-I remember telling him,

-"Idwal, use your head!"

-He was much older than me.

-I was 20 and he was in his 40s.

-He wanted to go for a pint.

-"Where will you find clothes?"

-But he borrowed some clothes

-and he came with us.

-One of the nurses knew

-we were off to the Masons.

-We had to be back

-before the shift changed.

-So off we went.

-Idwal refused to come back.

-He wasn't going back to that hole,

-he was staying until stop-tap!

-And that's what we all did.

-We had a few -

-a bit too much, perhaps.

-When we got back the ward was shut.

-People were walking around.

-I think Duncan Davies, D D Davies,

-was the doctor.

-He and the matron,

-Catherine Evans...

-..and everyone

-were out looking for us!

-On Saturday nights,

-because I was the youngest....

-..I had to go to Caernarfon

-to fetch chips.

-I'd jump the fence

-and run like a fool.

-The porter phoned the order ahead.

-The chips cost half a crown

-for eight of us.

-I'd run back with the carrier bag.

-But one night, there was a car

-outside the chip shop.

-It was a very nice car.

-An old lady in the car said,

-"Hello, lad.

-"What are you doing

-with so much chips?"

-The man in the shop said,

-"He's from Bryn Seiont."

-"Oh, would you like a lift?"

-I got into the car -

-it had leather seats.

-Two men sat in the front.

-They asked questions,

-and like a fool I answered.

-We stopped at Pont Seiont.

-I got out and went over the fence.

-The car went the other way.

-About 15 minutes later,

-who walked in but the two men.

-They were doctors!

-Dear me! Sister Kate was called.

-There was a big inquiry.

-They wanted to send me home.

-There was big trouble,

-but it was fun!

-Another important development

-in the early '50s...

-..was the BCG vaccination.

-In 1950, research was carried out

-in Britain on 56,000 children.

-The results demonstrated

-that the vaccination prevented TB.

-The process of vaccinating children

-annually began in 1953.

-The same vaccination

-is still being used today.

-The first thing the local doctor did

-after the children were born...

-..was give them a BCG.

-He vaccinated them against TB.

-They got the BCG

-before any other vaccination...

-..when they were three months old.

-The three boys

-had to have it straight away.

-The situation changed completely.

-In 1913, there were 120,000 cases

-of TB in Wales and England.

-By the early '60s,

-the number was down to 40,000.

-More people were now dying

-from lung cancer than from TB.

-The new drugs, streptomycin, PAS

-and isoniazid, were miraculous.

-They saved more and more lives

-every day.

-In 1969, the mobile X-ray units

-were discontinued...

-..because their cost

-could no longer be justified.

-Doctors said TB

-had been conquered...

-..and was about

-to disappear completely.

-Others believed all

-infectious diseases would disappear.

-But TB had a twist in its tail.

-Scientists noticed

-that some bacteria...

-..developed immunity to antibiotics.

-They didn't die.

-This happened because some people

-stopped taking their tablets...

-..when they started feeling better.

-They failed to complete

-their course of medication.

-By the '80s, for the first time

-in years, TB was on the increase.

-The West produced tons of tablets

-to combat TB.

-But a huge reservoir of the bacteria

-existed in Third World countries.

-They couldn't afford

-the new tablets.

-Cases of TB are increasing

-in poor areas.

-In addition, the TB bacteria...

-..coexists successfully

-with the HIV virus.

-HIV attacks

-people's immune system...

-..making it easy for diseases like

-TB to infect and kill sufferers.

-TB kills a high proportion

-of those who are HIV positive.

-As HIV spreads,

-TB follows closely in its wake.

-In the past, Western people didn't

-have to worry about the Third World.

-Those countries and their problems

-were thousands of miles away.

-But today, the situation

-is very different.

-Eight children at this Newport

-school have contracted tuberculosis.

-Hundreds more are tested.

-The disease became very prominent

-again recently...

-..on our own doorstep

-here in Wales.

-The world is small nowadays.

-More people travel the world

-for all sorts of reasons...

-..and this makes it easier for

-diseases, including TB, to spread.

-The recent rise has occurred

-because, especially in the '90s...

-..many people

-entered the country....

-..particularly from parts of Africa.

-A lot of cases are among refugees

-who have come into this country...

-..from parts of the world

-where TB is still very common.

-There's a certain amount

-of screening.

-It differs between different parts

-of the country.

-But an effort is made to find these

-people when they arrive here.

-People are screened

-using a skin test...

-..and adults

-also have a chest X-ray.

-TB is more prevalent today

-in some areas of London...

-..than in some

-Third World countries.

-Worse still, a percentage of these

-cases don't respond to antibiotics.

-At best, three different tablets

-must be taken together...

-..to beat the disease.

-Nurses visit homes to make sure that

-sufferers take all their tablets...

-..to lessen the possibility

-of problems occurring.

-And the world is getting smaller.

-A TB bacterium could be in Madras

-today and in Machynlleth tomorrow.

-Every day, 86,000 people

-become infected with TB.

-Every day, 5,000 people die.

-TB has been with us

-for thousands of years...

-..but we've only managed

-to control it for 50 years.

-This year, more people will die

-of TB than ever before.

-This cunning bacteria

-evolves a lot quicker than we do.

-At the start of a new millennium...

-..we have to fight

-against the white plague yet again.

-S4C subtitles by TROSOL Cyf.