Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-06
SPREAD OF LEPROSY
Proposed Investigation Of Its Cause
and Remedy.
HERE BY THE IMMIGRANTS
Isolation the Only Known Way to
Check the Disease.
DIR. WYMAN'S INTENTIONS

DIR. WYMAN'S INTENTIONS
| Few persons in this country accept Sc
| rioEsly Gny statement that leprosy is in
| creasing in the United States. Such stories
are generally regarded as sensational and
as making good reading matter rather than
expressing a fact. Notwithstanding this
increduity, the marine hospital service is
authority for the statement that there
are today about 200 persons in the United
States afflicted with leprosy. The old idea
that this disease is not contagious has also
been exploded by scientific investigation
The disease was formerly regarded as he.
reditary, but the microbe of leprosy is
known to exist, though no method is
known by which it can be exterminated
when once in the system Its control by
the isolation of leprous patients is the
| only means that medical science knows
today by which to eventually get rid of the
loathsome disease
An investigation Proposed
In order that this government might in
augurate measures for the treatment of
this disease and prevent it from further
spreading, a bill was introduced In the
senate on the 18th instant by Mr. Cockrell
1or the investigation of leprosy, and it pro-
| vices as follows:
| That the supervising surgeon general of
| the marine hospital service. under the di-
| fectlon OF the Secretary of the Treasury
| shall appoint a commission of medical Off
| GERS OF the marine hospital service to in
| 'estiSate the origin and prevalence of lep-
| rosy IN the United States, and to report
| upon what legislation is necessary for the
| prevention of the spread of this disease.
the expenses of this Investigation 10 be
paid from the fund for preventing the
| spread of epidemic Diseases
| Ihls bill has the approval of Surgeon
| General Wyman of the marine hospital ser
| wee. Dr. Wyman has taken an active in
| terest in this subject, and upon his recon-
nenoation the Secretary of the Treasury
! directed that Past Assistant Surgeon j. j.
| hlnyoun be detailed to represent the ma
| rine hospital service at the interna tional
| congress to discuss the question of leprosy.
called to meet in Berlin October IL to Ii in
| elusive. DR.. kinyoun has just returned
f1om this mission. during which he has
| been enabled to obs erve the latest advance,
in the treatment of this disease in several
OF the most famous laboratories of Europe.
| Extent of Lcprosy.
| The extent of leprosy in the world can be
| gained from such imperfect statistics as
exist on that subject. About every nation
on the globe has its lepers, those most Sc
| verely afflicted in that respect having cases
as follows: India, 100000; Japan, 10000;
Russia, 100; Norway, 100; Hawaii, $50;
| States, about 20O; Transvaal 60; Dutch
East Indies. 1000.
| Years ago ieprosy was increasing in Ger
many. and when the attention of the en-
peror was called to that fact he asked
| what should be done to suppress the dis
ease.
isolate theni," replied the doctors
| Result of Isolatinn.
There was no further parleying about the
matter. Ample facilities for the isolation
| of leprous cases were provided and today
| but seventeen sucn cases in the German
| empire are known. There were 5000 cases
of leprosy in Norway thirty-five years ago,
| when Hansen discovered the cause of the
| disease and its prevention on scientific and
| humane principles began. Now the num-
| Der Of lepers in Norway has been reduced
| TO LOO. and from this experience it is be
| HeVed In Norway that the disease will be
| eXterminated In that country within fifteen
| years 1t has been extremely difficult for
| the British government to do anything to
| reduce the number of lepers in India be-
| cause of the prejudices of the people
| against measures for its control and in
| view of the fact that the natives regard it
| as hereditary. For political reasons the
| British government has not antagonized the
! preiudices of the natives, and, it is said.
| that We're they to do they would pre-
| cipitate greater rebellion than was the
| Sepoy uprising.
The American Lepers.
! The larger part of the lepers in the United
| States are in Louisiana. the next colony in
| number of this kind being in San Fran
| CISCO There are few lepers in Minnesota,
| the disease having been taken there by
| Norwegian immigrants. They are isolated
| under the Hansen system. There are scat
| tered cases in several Of the cities of the
| United States, the actual number being un-
| known. There are large number of lepers
| in Havana, where it is regarded as rapidly
| increasing. There are Seventy-fve leperS
| in Canada. though the disease is now being
| controlled there.
| Wherever leprosy exists in the United
| States it can be traced to immigration. but
| there is evidence that it Is spreading. In
| late years a good many affections that
| were pronounced by dermatologists as skin
| diseases of various kinds have been shown
| to be no less than a form of leprosy.
| The great difficulty that has been found
| in isolating lepers has been the fact that
| this isolation was formerly so complete
| that it was regarded as greater punish
| ment than a life term in the oenitentIary,
| and friends of the lepers consoired to Sc
| crete them in their homes. 1t has now
been shown that there is no danger in
| having the friends of lepers visit them
! under proper conditions, and life in leper
| colony has been SO far amehorated as TO
| make it welcome to the afflicted, as they
| can under such conditions, get better
| treatment than can be had among their
| friends.
| DIR. wymnn's Intention.
| The efforts of DR.. Wyman will be toward
having i national control of leDrosy in
| this country, as that method is regarded
| as more effective than would be any sys
! TEN of state control that could be devised
! The need for this is shown in the fact
! that there are undoubtedly more lepers
| here now than there were ten years ago.
and this increase has been traceable to
| q spread of the disease and not to the in
PRODUCTION Of new cases.