The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-11-19
~LEPROSY'ON THE DECLINE.
Conclusion of the Congress of Ex-
pertS at Berlin.

London, Oct. 22.-The PROCEEDINGS of
the Leprosy Congress at Berlin should
serve on the whole to reduce the appra-
henslon Which has been growing for
some years past by reason of the ap-
parent increase of this oldest and worst
scourge Of humanity. Almost stimuli
taneous reports gained currency and
cfedence a few years ago that leprosy
was increasing rapidly in India. South
AFRICA, Australia. and several Islands III
the Pacific. More recently the disuuiet-
ing fact has been made known that no
important country and no great CITY is
without its lepers. the average number
IN London. New York, Paris and Berlin
BENG probably not less than 100 each.
1T is practically established, also, thai
the disease is infectious, though no con-
taglous. But the reassuring feature of
the situation is the knowledge tina the
scourge is m~easurably diminishing, and
tnat there is no reaSOn to fear any Seri-
Gus recrudeScence Of it in civilized coun-
tries.
No cure for leprosy is yet known to
science, but the disease is now much
better understood h ever before. The
to the recent were
pretty we'll agreed that it is a bacil!ar
dlsaSe, with a specific germ, that it is
not hereditary, and that it is commune
cable IN much the same way as are chol-
era and typhoid fever, though in a much
less active and dangerous degree. In
other words, leprosy cannot be COM
munlcated by the atmosphere, as in the
case of smallpox, scarlet fever, or infu-
enza. Most persons would probably es-
cape injection even from actual phys
lcal contact unless many times repeat
ed. There are we'll authenticated cases,
however, where the disease has been
transported by insects. One of the ter
rorS OF life in certain infected commune
ties is this danger from mosquitoes. If
one OF these insects bites a leper and
happens next to attack a non-infected
person. the latter may become inocu-
lated with the germs of the disease, par
tlcularly if he is rash enough to kill the
mosquito while it is in the act of sting
ing. 1t is a common precaution, where
this danger exists. for the inhabitants
to content themselves with driving
away insect ~pests-never to kill them
upon the skin where they have pune
tured it.
No decisive or satisfactory informal
ton was gained at Berlin with regard
to the origin. l. e., the source of the
spontaneous development of leprosy.
Jonathan HutchinsOn's theory, which
he holds very tenaciOusly, that an ex-
clusively or predominant fish diet is the
cause of the disease, found no support
ers. There was some difference of opin-
ion regarding the necessity for the isoIa-
latlon Of lepers. but the majority was
overwhelmingly large in favor of strict
sequestration DR.. Hansen reported tina
the system of isolation in Sweden and
Norway a been strikingly successful,
and had reduced the number of victims
from 5000 to 1000 within the past four
or five years. There were encouraging
reports of the decline of the disease in
the Baltic provinces of Russia and in
India and other places. All agreed that
cleanliness, observance of sanitary laws,
improvement of general health, variety
of diet, and isolation of the infected are
formidable enemies Of the scOurge
In fact, there is good reason for hop
ing that the new century will not be
many years old before this plague has
been entirely driven out of the civilized
nations of the world. The next great
triumph of medical science will probably
be the discovery of cures of prophylac-
tics that will give control over all germ
diseases-typhOid, malaria, diphtherla,
and leprosy among them. Many leaders
Of the profession believe that the day is
not far distant when these greatest enc
mics of human longevity will be con-
Uuered.