Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1885-03-14

he ignorance winch prevails among
the masses in reference to the nature
Of leprosy was never better illustrated
than in the remarks often heard upon
the in9culation experiments which have
been going on within the prison walls.
We refer to the case OF Keanu, the mur
dcrer, whose sentence was commuted
upon condition that he subject himself
to experimentation by Dr Arning
1t is known that within a few
months past this man has been the sub
jcct Of several scientifically conducted
inoculations with the virus Of leprosy i
and it is also known that so far as de-
yelopcd contamination is concerned,
there has been as yet, no apparent re
suit From this knowledge, there are
many who would Immediately base an
argument against the inoculabiity OF
eprosy as il these were all the factors
to be considered in determining such
question whereas ii would not be
more absurd to see small pox or measles
developed in a person in twenty-four
hours after contact with a patient suf-
icring from either of these diseases
Experience tells us that such an ex-
pectation would be absurd, and that in
the case of measles, about twelve, and
in the case Of smallpox, from fourteen
to sixteen days from the date of contact,
would have to elapse before the effects
OF contamination would appear. This
period of incubation, as it is called, var
les according to the disease, but is as
constant in nearly all acute specific dis.
eases as the property common to plants
to gcrmlnate in certain time from
the planting of the seed, which time
may be closely determined by the ma
ture Of the plant-being longer or
shorter accordingly There are good
reasons for believing that the period of
incubation in leprosy is one immensely
protracted in comparison with that of
most other diseases of germ origin, al
though its exact period has not yet
been determined.
Different authors estimate the period
of incubation i'll leprosy at between two
and five or seven years, with the pre-
ponderance of authority in favor of the
longer period. Then, how absurd to ex-
pect results from the inoculation OF
Keanu who has only been the subject Of
experiment for very few months past.
Had he already developed leprosy, no
physician who knows anything of the
disease. would believe that it was the
result of the inoculations SO lately prac-
titcd upon him, but would prefer the
theory that he had had the disease
latent in his system long before he en-
tered those prison walls.
So far as establishing the inoculabil-
ity of leprUsy, or otherwise, the results
in any case, will be nugatory. Having
been born and bred in country where
the percentage of lepers is so very
large as on these islands, if he develop
the disease at any period within five or
six years, there can be no reasonable
certainty but that he received the con-
tagion before his incarceration if after
that space of time the probability that
the disease has been acquired as the
resut of inoculaton, will become
greater Then again, if he does not
take the disease at all, the fact of non
inoculability will not thereby be es-
tablished. Many people seem to
possess the constitutional power of re
sisting certain other contagious and in
fectious diseases through whole life,
even though through successive and
protracted periods, brought into con
tact with them and why is it not pos
sihle that like exceptions should apply
in the case of leprous contagion as
well
Thisisnot question 10 be decided off
hand or in given period of time, nor
yet by single experiment; and the
people would do we'll to reserve their
opinions upon a subject upon which
the best dermatologists are by no means
agreed.