The Lamar register., 1901-09-04
FEAR OF LEPROsY
SPREAD OF THE DISEASE BY COLO.
NAL EXPANSION.
Europe Alarmed Mt the Outlook-A LepeI
sanitarium Established In Germany
One Proposed In France-Lax spanish
Methods-Disease In Norway.

Incident to colonial expansion, there
has been, particularly in France and
Germany, SO marked an increase In
the number Of cases of leprosy in Eu-
rope that the matter is receiving seri.
Gus attention. There are even alarm
lists who say that western Europe Ia
on the eve Of another outbreak Of the
disease such as followed the return
of the Crusaders. The question was
brought up before the French Academy
of Medicine in 1885 and 1883. In Ber.
lin. In 1897, there was an international
medical conference to consider pre-
cautionary measures to prevent the
spread of the disease. On May 81 last
| DIR. Besnier of the French Academy
OF Medicine declared that it was ad-
visable to establish in France ma
tional leprosy sanitarium. where per-
sons tainted with the disease might
be isolated. Taking this state of af-
fairs for his text, NJ. Dastre has con-
| tributed to the Revue des Deux Mondes
study of leprosy and the present dan
ger of spread of the disease. He
points out that in two regions In
France leprosy has existed continu-
| ously since the middle ages. These
are Brittany and the neighborhood OF
Nice. The Nice lepers are supposed to
be descended from leper colony that
dated back to the Saracen invasion.
AS recently as 1888 two distinct out
breaks Of the disease occurred along
the Alpes-Maritimes coast, causing the
death of some twenty persons. In
dividual cases of the disease are still
found in the neighborhood. In Brit
tany leprosy in the seventeenth CEN
tury were very widespread and 1t has
never been entirely stamped out. In
a majority of the recently imported
cases from the French colonies in the
Orient the patients are government
employees, commercial travellers. mis-
sionaries. soldiers and sisters of char
ity. All told it is estimated that the
proposed leper colony in France would
begin with between 300 and 400 pa
tients. Germany established a !eper
sanitarium two years ago. Up to 1910
the disease was unknown in Russia. A
few years ago 1t appeared in the
Memel district, causing the death OF
nineteen persons. In 1899 seventeen
districts around the city were found
to be contaminated and the sanitary
department of the German government
opened leper hospital. to which all
sufferers were forced to go. and in
which the isolation was complete. The
regulations on the subject are very
strict, as was shown in the case of a
German merchant who came home to
enjoy a fortune which he had amassed
in one of the tainted colonies and who
was found to be suffering from lep-
rosy. He was ordered to move out OF
the town forthwith, purchase a coun-
try house remote from all neighbors
and then live absolutely isolated from
the world, under penalty of being re-
moved to the leper hospital. The
authorities even went so far as to
designate the particular room in the
house which the leper and each of the
members of his family were to occupy.
Great Britain, with more foreign pos
sessions in which leprosy prevails
than any other country in the world.
has always fully protected herself from
invasions of the scourge. In the 30
years from 1868 to 1898 ONLY 96 i'm
ported cases were reported. In Por-
tugal it is estimated that there are
in the neighborhood of 1000 cases OF
leprosy, while in Spain there are a
certain number of breeding places OF
the disease. The lepers in Spain are
not isolated. They work in the fields
even marry. They are avoided
!: .aly when the manifestations
| avoided coly when the manifestations
of tEei~ disease are particularly pro-
nounced. There is one ieprosy-infected
region of Spain which has a curious
history 1t is Sagra in the province OF
Alicante. Leprosy was unknown there
until 1850. when 1t was introduced by
man who had returned from the
Philippines to enjoy the fortune he
had acquired. The case was so far
similar to that of the German mer-
chant already described. Spanish meth
ods are not as thorough-g going as Ger
man and no restraint was put on the
leper. He communicated the disease
to his friends first and it gradually
spread to the nearby villages of Jalon
Parcent and Orba. Within a very few
years more than 200 persons were pro-
nounced lepers, and only recently as
many as $50 of these unfortunates
were still living.