Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1921-09-02

cure for lepr0sy? II Is too soon Ia
say. since there Is no test on which
q positive utternnce In the affirmative
can be given. But this much has been
shown conclusively:
Chaulmoogra oil contains one or
more agents which exert marked
therapeutic action I'm many cases OF
ieprosy. There have been many ap-
parent cures. Are they real and per-
manentf That remains to the seen.
But II Is evident that modern medi-
cine now has an agent at its dis
posnl which gives promise, for the
control OF the dreaded disease.
Professor Rock, formerly of the Uni
versity Of Hawaii, made the trip to
the Slamese jungles for the United
states Department of Agriculture. II
Is purposed to provide a permanent
supply OF the oil for the treatment Of
ieprosy. Professor Rocks seeds and
young trees have been distributed
among various experiment stations.
notably In Florida, Maryland and Cal.
ifornla.
Professor Rock says that with one
exception he Is, so far as is known.
the first white man to penetrate the
region of Slam where he obtained tho
specimens. or the other white man
nothing seems TO be known except
that he Is an amateur botanIst named
Kerr. The Siamese, however, visit
the tungles where grow the taraktog.
enos trees once every three wears tn
secure the seeds for chaumoogra oil
II Is Wild country. full of dangerous
animals The natives have known of
the beneficial properties of the oil in
leprosy for hundreds of years, but
handle the oil In such crude way
that they do not get its full effect.
"unclean" is the pitlful cry OF the
leper that has been heard in all parts
or the world since biblical times. The
dread disease gets Its name from the
Greek word "lepros," which means
"scaly." 1t Is caused by the bacillus
Leprae. 1t has always been believed
contagious and until recent wears I'm.
durable. II has been considered n
dread disease because of
the terrible distigurements II causes.
Probably the origin and home of
leprosy Is the Far East, but at one
time II was widespread IN Europa
IL Is still found in quantity I'm France
Russia, Norway, Turkey and Portugal
lt Is estimated that there are 800
lepers In the United States. most of
whom are undetected and therefore
Ii Is only the other |
day that the wife of II well-known |
officer OF the United States army was
found to be suffering from mild
form Of leprosy and was sent for
treatment to the government lepro-
sorlum In Louisiana. Recently the
British government requisitloned the
United States for chaulnoogra oil for
The treatment of several hundred SUI.
ferers on the Island OF Trinidad.
Portugal probably possesses the
greatest number of lepers of any Eu-
ropean country. Foreigners are
shocked by the sight OF dIshgured lep.
'rs OF both sexes begging in the
streets and selling toys and sweets.
But Portugal seldom gets excited over
Ter lepers. About once generation
somebody Insists that something ought
o be done for them--or with them
II leprosy can be cured or con.
rolled, the result is due TO work done
y the United States public health
ervice. This work has been going
IN for the last fifteen years, prlncI.
ally In the Kalihi hospital Hawaii.
The Kalaupapa leper colony Is situ.
ted on a promontory OF the island OF