The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-05-24

OF the committee on leproSy, al
dressed the meeting. He spoke o.
the circumstances calling The
leprosy committee into existence
its past and present work and
future course. All physicians il
the islands were asked to cooperate
It was the generally accepted
theory in this country that leprosy
is contagious. DR.. Wood felt con
fdent a cure would be found for
the disease in time, and urged con-
tinual experiments. The islands
should be able to furnish other
countries valuable assistance in
treatment of the disease.
DR.. Day endorsed the remarks OF
DR.. Wood, and explained the
methods employed in fumigation
and quarantine. The present ar
rangement though crude, was eff
Gent. He hoped the Government
would soon inaugurate a system
more in keeping with the require
ments. Strict precautions were
necessary in order to prevent pes
thence from Oriental points.
At this point President Smith
expressed the desire of President
Dole to meet the visitors. He sug-
gested the propriety of calling on
the President the following morn
ing. DR.. Wood asked that the
President be invited to the banquet
that evening. Mr.. Smith replied
that if the Presidents duties
would admit Of his accept
ance of the late invitation he
would, no doubt, be pleased to ac-
cept. If not, arrangements could
be made for Friday forenoon. The
afternoon would be spent in show
ing the visitors around the start
for the settlement being made at s
o'clock Friday evening.
DR.. Alvarez read the following
paper on Suggestions on the
Treatment of Leprosy
Leprosy began to attract my atten-
ton twenty years ago. I was then
living in Havana, Cuba, in the vicin-
ity of the st. Lazarus Hospital, an in
stitution devoted to the care OF lepers
who are unable to earn living AS
there is no law of segregation in Cuba
the lepers spend their time on the
sidewalks begging for aims. Their
husky voices, mutilated hands and
grotesque faces have produced last
ing impression on my mind.
It was my intention some years ago
to visit Mexico and to investigate sew
eral cases of leprosy said to have been
cured with native medicines, but Ow.
ing to the danger to life and property
from highwaymen and Indians, / was
compelled to abandon my trip on
reaching Chihuahua. This disap-
pointment served to stimulate my de-
sire for knowledge in regard to the
treatment of leprosy in Spanish-Am-
erica. Now, besides correspondence,
L receive nearly all the medical jour-
mails published in Mexico, Cuba, Gu
atemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecua-
dor, Peru, Chile, Republic Argentina,
more or less prevalent in all the
countries named, and in Brazil,
UIJ0 uT5co5O CuuUIuIv. @E->--:-N
Many cases reported as cured in
these journals have little value, be-
cause the diagnosis of leprosy was not
previous to the treatment. There are,
however, some cases reported by COM
petent authorities which deserve our
confidence, and among them is one
from Brazil, cured by the use of a
plant called by Brazilians QoLpho.
The patient cured was a sister of a |
prominent physician of Rio de ia |
metro, and was treated by physician |
in charge of a hospital for lepers.
As you all know, the bacillus of |
ieprosy was discovered years ago by |
DIR Hansen Of Norway, a son-in-Iaw |
OF the late DR. DanielsOn the highest |
on leprosy. That the cause
Of leprosy is the bacillus of Hansen is
no longer disputed, and you all will
agree with me that the task before us
low il to find the means of DESTROYING
his old enemy OF mankind without |
njurying the patient.
Much time and labor have been
consumed in vain efforts to cultivate
lie bacilli of leprOsy in artificial media
n the hopes that an antitoXin would
Re obtained which would control the
isease. While admitting that bac-
has greatly increased our
OF many diseases and our ,
leans to conquer them, I believe that
220ri7l would be of DO value as @ thera- ,
cutie agent to cure the disease.
ase my belief on the fact that leprosy :
not self-limited disease, cOnse-
uently we cannot render the patient +
immune by increasing the quantity of /,
'xins in his body. This opinion finds j
Ipport in all the experiments made 7
7 different observers with the sup :
'sed tef2riq1s, for all gave negative r
suits. L hold the same opinion in q
gard to tuberculosis, in which tuber- a
lin often aggravates the disease. T
ne failure of tuberculin to cure tuber- :
ltOSlS Is not due to lack of exnerience q
its eminent author, the most accom-. 4
ished bacteriolOgist that the world n
Is produced; his efforts would pro- I,
bly, have been crowned with COM Fl
etc success if tuberculosis were a | r,
IT. Limited disease. @,
our knowledge of the aeti- h
ogy, pathology and diagnosis of f.
prOsy has Increased greatly during
e last few years, there is little inn, IL
ovement in the treatment, the most s,
lpprtant branch of medicine. cr