The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1892-04-14
LEPRosY IN CHINA.
Whole Districts Injected BY the
Dread Disease.
FSr Many Centuries the Celestiais Tfave
Suspected tho Existence of I,acilli
No Remedy Hut Exciu-
esuu.

|
years. and having travelled extensively
during that time in the service of the
Chinese government, says n writer in
the Scientific American, I have often
| come upon whole districts andtowns
where leprosy was prevalent, and,
speaking and reading Chinese fairly
we'll, made several inquiries with a
view OF ascertGining the native ideas as
to the origin, spread and prevention of
that fearful disease.
On one occasion ! came upon whole
lcper colonies at and close to the city
OF Yen Ping, In the province of Fu-
chien. asked the project of Yen Ping
Flu If he knew anything about the cause
Of the disease (which in Chinese is
known as ma feng) and what steps the
local authorities took to prevent the
spread OF the disease. He answered me
that very little was known about the
cause, but that leprosy was about as old
as China itself. 1t is, however, probably
caused, he said, by "a small animal,
but SO small as to bc invisible to tho
eye, and on the whole not perceptible
to the senses at ell"
This struck me at the time as very in
teresting. us it proved that the Chinese
had made shrewd guess-ages before
the ''civil!zed west"-ut tho now SO COM
monty discussed bacillus. The project
further said that the general idea was
that tho seeds Of leprosy entered the
rice through the water in certain local
tiles, md that it was through the food
that the disease to some extent was
propagated, and of course through nc-
tual bodily contagion. There are nu-
merous asylums at Yen Ping Flu for
lepcrs, but they were allowed to 10
about q good deal.
The lcpcrs in the said district were
allowed TO interlnarry, but no marriage
was allowed between healthy people
and those suffering from leprosy.
was shown a good many young boys
and grown-up girls, several of whom
showed 10 outward signs of the disease,
and several Of whom even were very
good-loolSing, but who nevertheless all
OF them had the taint of the disease.
The Chinese claim to be able to recog-
nize the existence Of tho disease in such
case, by the peculiar, nearly abnormally
healthy complexion.
The guess ut the bacteria is said to
have been made many centuries ago;
many remedies (all, or most, Of which
were exceedingly unlikely have been
proposed from time to time, but tho pre-
feet said that really there was no rem
edy, and only one way Of preventing
the spread OF the disease, namely, by
keeping the lepcrs strictly in their
asylums and prohibiting marriages of
lepers altogether, and thus stopping the
spread OF leprosy by contasion and her
edity.
There are many supcrstitious notions
IN existence in China with regard to tho
cure Of the disease. Thus Chinese
official told me that many of the natives
thought that person suffering from /
seProsy could be cured by marrying o
healthy person OF the opposite sex; and
great cunning has often been used to
conceal the disease. and thus carry out
plans of such kinds, with
9 view OF curing either the son or
daughter Us the case may be. This, Of
course, proves the ignorance Of the
masses and also how still further chan
nels are opened for the propagation Of
the disease. On another occasion q
woman offered me and friend some
''peanuts;" IN official who was travel
Ing with us rushed up, saying only:
Ma Feng, pu mai," which means,
'Leprosy. don't buy" which proves
That the Chinese are fully convinced |
that the contagion can DO communicated
BY touching or eating anything which
has been handled by lepers, and it also
proves the great risk ono unlsnowingly
'uns In buying fruit or my other kind
u produce coming from places where
epers are allowed TO go about at large.
Whatever some western" physicians
nay say ns to the noncontagion Of the
disease. ! think no sane person win
leny that the experience gained through
OF years In a country like
;hina must and does prove something,
as after all most of our pres
mt knowledge Of medicine Is based on
and tradition. Besides, the
'hinese knew the use of Vaccination as
J preventive against smallpox moro
han six centuries ago; and, although
hey OF course do not possess our knowi-
dge OF surgery and chemistry, they
avc always been careful recorders Of
istory within their own sphere OF