The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-12-13
Report Made to the President by
Dr.. L. f. Alvarez.
OPINIONS OF BEST AUTHORITIES
Leading Students Of Leprosy In
Council-PaperS on Diagnosis.
Verdict Of Congress.

Alvarez at the Board or Health meet
ing Saturday afternoon. 1t is one of
the most comprehensive and interest
ing of all papers on the subject:
Honolulu, December IL, 1897.
To MR.. S. B. DOLE, President of the
Republic.
Sir:-I have the honor to submit my
report as official delegate of the Hawai-
ian Government to the Leprosy Con
ference held in Berlin, October II to
16, 1897.
left Honolulu, September Sd, per
S. S. Warrimoo for Vancouver, thence
by Montreal, to Liverpool, London and
Berlin where | arrived on the 7th of
October.
On the following day l was intro
duced by Mr.. Glade. the Hawaiian
Charge d Affaires, to Professor Lassar,
the vice-president of the Conference
who received me most cordially.
On October IL, the Conference was
opened by Prof. r. Virchow, president;
Drs. Lassar and Hansen, vice-presi-
dents; DR.. Ehlers, secretary.
The delegates received cordial well
come from Count Posadowsky, on be-
half of the Imperial Government; from
DR.. Bosse, Minister of Education and
Religion, on behalf of the Prussian
Ministry; from Dr. Won Bartsch, on
behalf of the medical corps of the
Army and Navy.
The large hall of the Imperial Health
Institute was filled with over 800 dis
tinguished physicians from all parts OF
the world.
The bacillus of Hansen was general
ly admitted to be the only cause OF
leprosy but no absolute proof can be
given until we obtain pure cultures OF
the bacillus and succeeded in reproduc-
ing the disease experimentally.
Our knowledge of the histology and
pathology of leprosy has been increased
by several valuable contributions on
these subjects.
Much time was devoted to the sub.
ject of diagnosis, and it's Importance
was fully appreciated The success
or failure of segregation depends to q
great extent on our ability to recog-
nize the disease in it's earliest mani
festations before the leper has had
time to communicate the disease to
others.
pie sent lengthy communication on
this subject entitled:
''Des rapports qui existent entire la
maladie de Morvan, la Syringomyelie
la Sclerodermie, la Sclerodactylie, la
Maladie de Reynaud, la Morphee des
Contemporaries, l. Ainhum, L Atrophie
musculaire progressive Aran-Duche-
une, ct al Leprose."
In the discussion of this paper the
opinion was often expressed that cases
of anaesthetic leprosy are sometimes
enormously classified with the diseases
mentioned by Zambaco Pacha.
When the bacilli Of leprosy can be
demonstrated, there will be no difficult
ty in diagnosis; but there are some
cases in which bacilli cannot be found
yet their absence does not prove that
the case in question is not leprosy
Many cases of anaesthetic and some OF
tubercular leprosy were reported in
which the bacilli could not be demon
strated by some of our most skillfu
observers.
I had the honor to present to the
Conference paper on this subject en-.
titled
"a New Method of archaeological
Diagnosis of Leprosy," which wa:
acknowledged by the members of tn,
Conference as very useful, especiall,
in these obscure cases. The paper wa
published in full in the transactions
SEGREGATION.
Much difference of opinion prevailed
on this important subject. Only few
delegates were in favor of rigorou
measures against the lepers; the grea
majority advocated the mild system o
isolation now in force in Norway. Thi
system has produced excellent results
In 40 years the number of lepers il
Norway was reduced from 5000 to 60(
and it is predicted by DR.. Hansen tha
in few years more leprosy will b
almost unknown in Norway.
But no system of segregation, how
ever perfect it may be, will produc
the same results in different countrie!
The general opinion of the Confer
ence was that the system of isolation
ought to be adapted to the needs c
the people and should not be too sc
we're.
Rigorous measures are often follOwe
by concealment of cases and the con
sequent spread Of the disease.