- "They are black marketeers who specialize in creating bioweapons. What do you think they've been working on?"
- "Weaponized tuberculosis."
- —Oliver Queen and John Diggle[src]
Tuberculosis is a deadly disease, having been present for hundreds of years.
History
The Old West
H.G. Wells was infected with tuberculosis until he got cured by Martin Stein.[1]
Black market
AK Desmond Group, a black market organization specializing in bioweapons, created a bioweapon-like tuberculosis at the behest of Justin Claybourne. Claybourne used the weaponized tuberculosis to cause an outbreak in Lamb Valley, as his company, Claybourne Pharmaceuticals, acquired the rights to the curative drug, Dycloseral, the price of which skyrocketed from $10 a pill to $1,000 overnight. Claybourne intended to not only make money, but "thin the herd", killing off those who were unable to pay for the drug.[2]
Attack on Star City
Over four years later, Claybourne's son, Adrian Chase, attempted to replicate and release his father's weaponized tuberculosis onto Star City with help from Derek Sampson, but was stopped by Team Arrow.[3]
Known infectees
- H.G. Wells (cured)
Appearances
DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Season 1
Arrow
Season 5
- "What We Leave Behind" (mentioned)
- "Honor Thy Fathers" (mentioned)
Behind the scenes
- In real life, tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections do not have symptoms, known as latent tuberculosis. About 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kills about half of those infected.