Omaha daily bee., 1892-11-18
:. 3 Frasei-. va.chma.ler, 7+o Sway.
LEPRosv - pz1LADELPE1A.
The Disease Contracted from Mexican
Th!rrN-hNn 4 ..ars Acn.


Thlrry-hvo ears Ago.
Physicians VINO have heard the story
OF PhIladeiDuias woman leper. saws
dispatch from That c.tl To the New Y Urk
Tribune. pronounce ner case unique in
its development seldom. they say. has
the disease fallen upon one of the eau
casian race, ana still less frequently upon
any native. IN this country ana climate.
Sucn rare cases OF ,eDrGsy as have been
reported IN people OF American birth
have uSunly been rOnrrncted In foreign
lands by infinite ASSOCIATION with other
victims. The GUuG ton Of The woman
Ia question WIS irst brought u the at
tenLion Of the health authorities Of this
city il August last. NJ 10 which
tine no one had suspected what
her real a1liCIOu was. She was
examined by Il we. known specialist in
skin dL5egscs. He expressed ne
opinion that she was a .eDer The
woman appearance anu symptoms
Justified the conclusion. Her i'm bs
We're covered with dark blutches OF
th-cSeneu and dIs"0iDred cutIc.e. some
Oi these being equa. III size 10 the palm
OF the hand. ana n hue approaching
bronze. Her face vas d.sIiLureG Dv
spots Of similar nature. though smaller
ana somewhat uOdular n form. An
aestnesin, although not marked. was
suggested IN the comparatively slight
sensation apparently produced uDOu
the b.otches Oy pr,cking them with a
pin. At the sams tine the patients
appetite was Jf the best, she suffered
no pain, and no other unfavOrabe
symptoms could be discovered.
The doctors guestioned,the woman per-
sistently 10 tind cut If she had AZ any
time been associated with another leper,
and finally learned that thirtv-1ive years
ago she mad lived with Mexican family
in this city. The head OF the family
suffered long with what was pronounced
eiephantiasis and she had cared for him
in his illness. which Al last proved fatal.
he Mexican son a 50 died during her
-e'Tre IN the family. from what was
( supposed TO De typhoid fever II was i
number Ot years after these Incidents.
about the tine one Of the w0man
children wGS born. that first the warn
me esiOns appeared On one other limbs.
I The spots soon disappeared. however.
( ana she fe.t no alarm. Her little ones
/ grew up to manhood ana wOmauhood.
! her hair whiJened with age. nj. without
| further premonition Of the dreadful fate
I awaiting her. some three years
! ago a few bl0tches made their aD-
pearance. al irst 50 small and few
! "a number Is TO attract little at
I teuLCn Last February they began 10
( Increase with alarming rapldity. ana
/ the woman sought medical advice. The
. physician who vas -irst consulted failed
( 10 uln-OnoZe the trouble properly ana
| treated ler several months without I'M
/ proving her condition. Then she came
10 Dr.. Welsh OF he Municipal hosDiu |.
( After hearing her story tn- city otticial.
were convinced that they had found i
lleved had been cunuacted from the
Mexican years before, his supposed
elephantiusls being Identical in some Of
lis forms with .eDr0-v To assure
themselves, however. the health otiicia.s
submitted -ome of Jhs woman 5 tissue 70
the University II Pennsylvania for Dac-
terlOiog'ca. examination. This revealed
i the presence OF DaClll resembling those
/ OF tuberculosis. The information thus
obtained only served to support the
/ opillons already expressed, the medical
men declaring that the bacillus of lep-
4 rosy strongly resembles that OF tuber-
/ culo=ls, while II Is unlike the germ Of
/ any other disease. As the woman had
/ none of me symptoms of tuberculosis
| tlerc was but the enc alternative con-
! clusi lu-that she was leuer.
She vas told that she would have 20
go tn the Leper laZarettO. where two
i other victims OF the dread disease we're
| already confined They are both Chinu-
/ men in advanced stages of leprosy. Al
| her urgent entreaty, TO prevent her
| children from being ostFacized. the Dhy-
| slclans agreed that Aer name should
never be mace public. Then she went
/ 10 her long confinement. which death
/ alone will terminate. she Is 81 years
/ old, and has lived all her lie N this
/ city. 4 separaJe building mas Deen
! erected within the Municipal hospi-
I tai grounds bv the city for
\ the use Of the three lepers. Within a
! few weeks II will have been furnished