Leprosy

There are 1,000 lepers in the U. S. Leprosy spreads only by personal communication. For that reason, it is believed that complete segregation of lepers would stamp out the disease in 50 years.

Exhaustive data on the situation is given by A. M. Chirgwin in the London Quarterly Review.

He calculates the number of lepers to be roughly:

China 1,000,000

India, Burma 500,000

East Africa 500,000

East Indies "Many

" Japan 100,000

Korea 20,000

Europe 7,000

In some places (e. g., Philippines under U. S. rule) energetic measures are destroying the disease; in other places (e. g., Java under Dutch rule) nothing is done either to relieve the sufferers or safeguard the community.

Leprosy never springs up de novo; it is always the result of direct contact. Children of lepers are born free of taint and can grow up in perfect health. By isolation of lepers, western Europe freed itself from the curse of the Middle Ages.

Compulsory segregation does not, however, in actual practice always kill leprosy, for two reasons: 1) lepers hide themselves at home; 2) the disease has an extraordinarily long incubation period--sometimes 15 or 20 years--during which time the incipient leper may be infecting others.

All sorts of remedies have been tried. Eating of human flesh was once advocated with the result that lepers stole and devoured children in vain.

"Quite recently, a new epoch has opened. For centuries it has been known that lepers found some relief from rubbing themselves with chaulmoogra oil.

"Chaulmoogra seeds, from which the oil is extracted, are a product of a tree which grows freely in Burma, Bengal and Assam. The oil with a little caustic soda added, yields sodium chaulmoograte, and free chaulmoogric acid is obtained by the addition of hydrochloric acid. If a little alcohol is poured into this chaulmoogric acid ethyl chaulmoograte is obtained, that is, ethyl estermiscible with blood.

"These ethyl ester preparations, containing the active principles of chaulmoogra oil, are injected intramuscularly and intravenously. The injections; usually made once a week, give rise to a febrile and local reaction, and under the microscope it is seen that the lepa bacilli in the tissues break up "and are destroyed. After repeated treatment the lesions completely disappear, and the bacilli are apparently destroyed once and for all.

"Good general health, cleanliness, suitable work and exercise, fresh air and healthy surroundings, abundant fresh and well adapted food not taken to excess, a healthy, happy mind not oppressed by care or unnecessary anxiety, are precisely the forces in the presence of which leprosy cannot live."

Leprosaria are no longer houses of doom and gloom. The leper has a chance of recovery.

Concludes Dr. Chirgwin: "Medical science has a strangle hold on leprosy, and before long humanity will have registered another victory."