In 1882, Robert Koch identified tuberculosis as an infectious bacterial disease. In the sixty years between this revelation and the discovery of an antibiotic treatment, streptomycin, the disease was widespread in Canada, often infecting children within their family homes. Soon, public concerns led to the establishment of hospitals that specialized in the treatment of tuberculosis, including the Toronto sanatorium, which opened in 1904 on the outskirts of the city. Situated in the era before streptomycin, Building Resistance explores children’s diverse experiences with tuberculosis infection, disease, hospitalization, and treatment at the Toronto sanatorium between 1909 and 1950. This early sanatorium era was defined by the principles of resistance building, recognizing that the body itself possessed a potential to overcome tuberculosis through rest, nutrition, fresh air, and sometimes surgical intervention. Grounded in a rich and descriptive case study and based on archival research, the book holistically approaches the social and biological impact of infection and disease on the bodies, families, and lives of children. Lavishly illustrated, compassionate, and informative, Building Resistance details the inner dimensions and evolving treatment choices of an early modern hospital, as well as the fate of its young patients.

Stacie Burke is associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Manitoba.

Stacie Burke's profile page

• Winner, J. J. Talman Award
• Winner, Ontario Historical Society 2019 J.J. Talman Award

“Burke adds in an important way to the sanatoria-focused literature, particularly in the continuity of tuberculosis treatment and the social experiences of living with the disease. It is in the richness of [these] social experiences that Burke’s book truly shines. Tuberculosis may have been treated within a sanatorium, but patients’ lives extended far beyond hospital routine, diagnosis, and prognosis.” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History

"This immensely detailed qualitative study is informative, and at times, deeply moving. … Burke lets the children speak for themselves as much as possible, acknowledging their role as ‘agency-possessing, decision-making, life-embracing, animated persons.’ Importantly, Burke emphasizes that tuberculosis never went away. In fact, the far higher rates of tuberculosis in First Nations and Inuit than in non-Indigenous Canadian-born individuals remain a legacy of colonialism in Canada. Building Resistance then, is also a call to action; it is only with equitable access to adequate housing, nutritious food, and healthcare that TB may someday cease to be ‘common and familiar.’” American Journal of Biological Anthropology

"As an elaborate guide to the source material and as an informative case study of a children's sanatorium, this book deserves lavish praise." Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"The Toronto sanatorium was the first institution in Canada (and reputedly worldwide) to dedicate buildings exclusively for infants and children. At its height, it provided 124 beds but was redundant by 1970. Stacie Burke's reopening of this sanatorium fo

"As developments in medicine gave rise to germ theory and other improvements, more middle-class patients came to be institutionalized. Burke takes us through the history of the institution, explores the effects of social and scientific changes, and examin

"Based on more than eight hundred patient charts held by the sanatorium’s successor institution, Building Resistance provides an interesting and detailed examination of how children experienced the sanatorium, and how the sanatorium understood children’s

"Stacie Burke's in-depth qualitative study is an excellent, authoritative and very readable addition to the growing historiography of childhood tuberculosis and the lived experience of tuberculosis among child sanatorium patients. [The] reopening of this

"Building Resistance provides an interesting and detailed examination of how children experienced the sanatorium, and how the sanatorium understood children's tuberculosis." Bulletin of the History of Medicine