Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1906-02-17
LEPR0SY WILL
NOTI1SPREA.D.
BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL
CASES IN MINNESOTA.
One of These is i'm Minneapolis and
Has Been Engaged in Business
There for Years.

There is no danger of leprosy
spreading in this state, if only a rea-
sonable amount of care is taken, &C
cording to DIR. Ell. Bracken, secretary
of the state board of health. 1t is not
half so infectious as consumption,
and cannot be acquired by superficial
contact Or carried about as the COM
mon infectious diseases cam 1t is on
ly through intimate association, re-
sidence in the same building and un-
sanitary conditions for prolonged
time, that person can become in
fected with the disease in this state.
The conditions are against it.
1t is for that reason that DR.. Brack-
en- has ordered Ronald E. Wangen,
the leprosy patient, who was fonnd at
Albert Lea several days ago, sent to
the poor house there. The doctor
contends that by giving him sleeping
quarters apart from the others, and
avoiding the use of the same linen and
dishes there is no danger that the dis
sease Will be transmitted to the other
inmates of the county poorhouse.
zone reason why it is SO! easy to
control leprosy is the popular dread
Of it," said the doctor, ''for as soon as
t is believed any one in the family
has it, they take every possible pre-
caution to prevent it's spread. 1t is
probably from the Biblical description
of the disease that we have the popu-
lar dread of this disease. But the con-
ditions there were entirely different
from what they are in Minnesota, and
besides, believe great part of what
is called Ieprosy in the bible was an
other disease confused with this.
GAS far as known there have been
only four lepers who acquired the dis
ease in the state, and one of them is
now dead. These all got it from rela-
tives, who had brought it from other
states, by living with them long time
before they knew they had the dis
ease. There is nothing to show that
the disease is hereditary nor that in
this state it can be caught III any way
except by continued association under
the most unsanitary conditions.
cit may surprise you that we have
at present three lepers living in Min
neapolis, one of them man living
with his family and doing business in
nj To hoe bod IL nv
but he has been careful of the sanitary
conditions, and none of his family
has the least symptoms of the dis
sease.
F'Some time ago we had about TWEEN
ty cases in the state, but several have
died Or moved away, so there are
pro badly about dozen now.
"The most of the lepers we have
here have come from Norway, but not
all. This would support the conten-
ton that fish eating may be the cause
of the disease. However, the disease
is now practically stamped out of tina t
country.
"In the United States we have con-
siderable of it in the southern states,
especially Louisiana and some in Flor
ida.
81 have always been an advocate of
a federal leprosarinm, for if any state
built one the other states would send
their lepers there. Surgeon General
Wyman of the United States public
health bureau has been given author
ity to found such hospital, but he
has not been given the funds for it
and efforts have been made to pass a
bill through congress appropriating
money for this purpose"