Morning journal and courier., 1893-10-11
No. 243

But the government believed in vaccination and caused it 10 be generally resorted to- There has been no abnormal increase of lsprosy during the last thirty yeara, and tn & lengthy section of this subject the com mission comes to the corolnsion that wAo- einstion is very good thing. The native opposition to vaccination has practically disappeared, and the people do not fear infection through the operation. In no one did the commission find leprosy b&cIi- Il in vaccine lymph.
 The commissioners state the important conclusion, again contrary 10 general belief and 10 the theory advanced ia standard trestlsss, ''thAt leprogy in India cannot be considered e hsrsa- itsry disease, and they would evan venture to say that the evidence which ex- tsts is hardly! sufficient to establish an in- herited specific predisposition 10 the dis ease by the offspring of leprozs parents to any sPprecisble degree" A great many torcible arguments kTe E5duced against the existence of 6 true specific hereditary predisposition casually related to the lep- rosy In the parent. The possible risk of sn increase of the leper population, &ssum- ing the spread of the disease to depend solely on heredity, is discussed At great length and the commissioners come to the striking conclusion that "nRrriegss among leperH aud with lepers, do not increase the risk of diffusion of leprosy by means of the offsping." Lepers may marry and their offspring be free of the disease, and this Is s commonly observed fact. A clean per- son marrying leper may become e lePer and yet thsi- offspring be clean and sgstn, the offspring may, in time, be leprousr while the parent is not; while, of course, thsre are many lepers whose parents were not so afflicted. The subject is mysterious, but the commission declares that leprosy is not 6 hereditary disease.
 The fish theory of the origin of leprosy, loDg held and defended by able scientists, is r+iected. Lsprosy baccili have never been found in fish, while the commission CTS found several score of lepers whose principles enforced upon them total Absti- neuce from fish and meat. The incresRe of leprosy in India has also been attributed to & scarcity of salt, and this view has been urged in the house of commons. The com missions rejects this theory also. IL also r. jscts the theory that water, whether em- ployed for drinking or bathing purposes, msy sssist in the diffusion of leprosy All these theories are discnssed and treated st great length, and their rejection is on the most complete grounds.
 The methods of treating lsprosy In India and elsewhere are dealt with al length, but the investigations of the experts hold out no hope for the stricken. Leprosy is an incurable disease, and all the treatments so far known are of palliative use only. The best. and The most that esn be done Is to ameliorAte the condition of the sufferers, and this may best be effected by attention to hygiene, to improving their surround iBgs, and segregation Is recommended, If for thiR reason alone. It Is not a hopeful report, tor while 1t adds much to our knOSledgs of this oldest and most terrible Of diseases, the information is mostly neg alive. The origin, dissemination, and cure of the disease remain mysteries.