The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-11-04
DR.. COFER'S
MOLOKAI
REPORT
CONTINUED flom Page IL
TO PREVENT CoNTAGIoN.


The board of health has just inaugur-
ated new system for preventing the
II lepers and their relatives and friends
from embracing and kissing each other
during this annual visit. 1t consists in
marching the visitors Immediately from
the steamer landing TO a corral with a
double fence. The friends are compelled
to remain inside this Enclosure, and the
Ilepers are allowed TO gather around and
talk to them through the bars. AS there
is little use in sending lepers to Molokai
if their friends are 70 be allowed TO visit
and establish with them the intercourse
| referred to above. this measure must ap-
peal even to the lay mind being one
absolutely necessary for the protection
of the community at large. While before
| visitors were allowed to go to Molokai
| only once a year under the corral system
they are to be allowed to visit their
fortunate friends and relatives at any
time.
| "A new home. the Sea View House has
been recently built at KaIaupapa for the
| helpless lepers This is a very substan-
tial, not to say somewhat imposing.
! structure. There are twenty-six inmates
here, who are cared for and fed by the
steward in charge and his assistants.
! AT noon the party repaired to the SUI
| perintendent's home, where the board of
health had provided luncheon. The house
| is large and spacious, and is surrounded
by well-kept grounds. No lepers are ever
allowed within this Enclosure. over 300
| lepers had assembled in front of the
gate of this place by the time luncheon
was over. and the visiting party were
given concert by the Kalaupapa band
and the president of the board of health
announced that ne was ready to listen to
any complaints or petitions which the
| assembled crowd had to lay before him.
The grievances proved to be remarkably
iaI
| reasonable in nature. The board of
health store then visited This Is
/ kept by a leper, an employee Of the board,
and it IS not unlike the average country
| store of the better class. The receipts in
1900 amounted to 2,411.45 AS the neces-
stiles of life. including clothes, are fur
n'shed free to every leper, the output of
this amount OF money yearly seems re-
markabIe and shows that even if hope
is being deferred. the leper is in some
ways as susceptible to the foibIes and
vanities of life are any of
~There were 909 lepers and 164 clean per-
sons at the settlement at the time of
our visit. OF the clean persons sixty
seven were Kokuas helpers t. e., per-
sons who feed and take care of helpless
lepers; nineteen were in the administered
tive department including the superin-
tendent, his assistant, the Catholic
brothers and sisters and servants, and
seventy-eight were non-leprous children
of lepers. 1 inquired particularly into
tho chances of infection of these clean
people with leprosy while In the dis
charge of their various duties. The gen
eral opinion was that in time they would
become lepers. 1t was not possible to
obtain any statistics this point as
these clean people are coming and going
all OF the time. I was informed. how
ever. that in the last ten years only ten
clean residents have became lepers, and
haf he M M
lepers al the settlement belonging to this |
class. The precautions OF certain mem
bers of the visiting party prior to land |
ing, together with the absolute lack of |
precaution on part Of others. attract |
ed my attention. Not believing 1t to be |
wise 10 spend the day handling persons |
surely. and things almost surely. infect |
ed with leprosy. and knowing that from |
the amount of horseback riding that |
would be done the chances of new abra- |
sions the hands would be increased, |
1 drew on a pair of gloves. and 1 noticed |
about one-third Of the party doing the |
same thing.
Il noticed that several men whom 1 |
knew would be exposed. especially during
the day. did not wear gloves. ON asking
them why they went with bare hands.
they stated that the risk for them was
small, but that we with gloves were apt
to forget and rub our noses or eyes with
out removing our gloves. while they were
being reminded continually of their in
fected bare hands. l mention this to
show that while the relatively small
number OF cases OF Ieprosy among the I
white population in the Hawaiian Islands
must prove in measure that 10 this
class OF persons the disease is only mild
" contagious the fear that some mem
bers of our party had of even touching
their noses or eyes with Infected gloves
how little is actually
Of 10 |
ease from a practical point OF view: this
too. on the part OF persons who have
been handling leprosy for the past fif
teen or twenty years.
RESULT OF EXPOSURE.
The results OF known exposure to lep- I
rosy are interesting and show an uncer-
.ainty as TO the chances of individual in |
lection which TO my mind make this dis
.ase one of the most difficult to operate
against For instance. l saw one leper | ]
II the settlement, white man, whose
ace was already markedly intiltrated. |
Who claims TO have received his infection |
rom a hoe which he took for moment I
rom the hands Of his native who was {
leaning up his yard. which man he saw
Il once was a leper He was carpenter
N trade. and always had certain num- V
,er of abrasions on his hands. He de- f
eloped leprosy shortly after this occur q.
ence On the other hand. there IS said
o be a man on the Island of Maui who O
wed fifteen years with his leper wife /
nd had fourteen children by her. neither 2
e. nor the children ever developing lep- +
osy Women are said TO be less liable
D the disease. there being many cases f
Z women having two or three husbands. "
nd these latter. although previously I
lean. falling victims to leprosy; the "
-omeu remaining clean until after the
lenopause when the disease supposed II
Y some to have been in the meanwhile "
ormant showed itself o.
As an example of the length Of time Pm
hich a person may spend in intimate il
ontact with leprosy without acquiring |