Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-10-04
FACTS ABOUT LEPRosY.
4 Chicago Physfeian Gives an Interestine
Outline OF the Disease.cA IL

4 Chicago Physfeian Gives an interesting
Outline Of the DiseAse.eA 81
'.Leprosy," said the doctor, sis
roughly divisible into two great types;
tubercular or BLACK and an@sthetic
or white" In the first spots of pale
red or dark brown color appear on the
back, hands, feet, palms. soles, fore
mead and cheeks. The face first be-
comes ifid, then swollen sand dis
colored, The white leprosy is char
acterized by water-blisters, at first,
which break and leave a whitish scar.
The scar is first the seat of singing
pain. afterward succeeded by complete
loss of feeling. The disease lasts
long time and the patient dies in the
white form from staple exhaustion;
in the black death is. usually caused
by blood-poisonings The disease is
due to a baeilla, or minute, fiat. needle
like germ. This must find its way
into q cpt surface to become contas-
gious. The disease, hence, spreads
slowly.
'Lepeosy has always existed in the
United States since the Louisiana pur-
chase. It did not spread much after
the war. The Creoles gave Tito their
negroes. Several cases recently re-
ported from Louisiana occurred among
persons OF Irish birth or descent. The
Chinese and the Scandinavians, and,
perhaps, the Sandwich islanders, are
the chief sources Of Geprosy in the
Il to New York and California and
through the practice of opium-smok-
ing introduced by them caused several
cases OF infection among the whites
who had sore mouths. In the Sand
wich Islands the lepers are al isolated
On one island. A self-sacrificing,
heroic Jesuit. who went to this island,
has become infected in consequence OF
his heroic philanthropy. The Scand6
navian cases reported from Iowa and
Minnesota have not infected any per-
son as yet. The leper colony AT Ira
cadie in the Dominion of Canada has
not spread the disease, which has ex-
listed there for more than a century.
There is no law in Illinois specific
ally requiring the report a this
disease, although the ordinary con-
tagious disease law has been construct
into requiring its report in Phila-
delphia and St. Louis. The disease is
easily kept in check by requiring the
isolation of each case. The importa-
ton of these cases should be pre-
vented, and the disease should be
added. to those requiring special re-
port. Most reputable physicians
would report such casae anyway, but
the cure-all quacks wonT. Chable
moogra oil and strychnine siee aoo&
results in treatment.
Cali Scandinavians coming from cers
tain districts in Norway and Sweden
should be carefully Inspected o. land
| ing in America, since, as Daniellsea and
Boeck,o the great Norwegian authors
tiles on leprosy, have said, the disease
can be made harmless only by isola-
tion.' The Chinese are, however,
much more liable to spread the disease
than the Scandinavians, who become
excellent American citizens in very
short time, since their institutions and
modes of thought are very like those
of the United States The ready as
similation of the Scandinavian is not
| surprising, considering the fact that
there is an enormous admixture of
Scandinavian blood in the Anglo
Saxons, who practically rule the
United States. The faw-abiding Scan
dinavian will readily submit to re-
straint, but the opium-smoking Mons
golian won't, and from them will come
the danger. "-Chicago NesOss