Byssinosis Byssinosis is an occupational, respiratory
disease caused by exposure to the dust produced by the industrial
production of textiles. The results of the disease lead to a form
of chronic bronchitis that is very similar to tuberculosis in
appearance and conditions. In the sweatshops of the Lower East
Side, workers' exposure to byssinosis was heightened by the cramped,
dark rooms that they worked in, where air circulation was often
poor or non-existent.
Because byssinosis (which is not contagious) was often mistaken
for tuberculosis, its common presence among Jewish garment workers
helped to fuel prevailing myths that tuberculosis itself was a
"Jewish" disease brought to America by the impoverished
immigrants of Eastern Europe. In actuality, the Jewish population
of New York City contracted tuberculosis at a rate lower then
most other ethnicities.
