The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1922-02-23
Leprosy Still
Public ealtht Problem

Washington, Feb. 23.--"Leprosy"I
says Surgeon General Cumming. of
the U. S. Public Health Service,
though comparatively rare in contin-
entail United States, is still public
health problem of much greater seri-
BUSINESS than seems to be popularity
supposed. Its virulence wakes andI
wanes in accordance with laws that we
do not understands; and our present
| comparative immunity does not lessen
the necessity for being on guard.
In the past we have not escaped. In
1876 leprous beggars were so common
in New Orleans that they had to be
segregated in a leprosarium. In 1864
three percent of the population Of the
Hawaiian Islands were lepers. In
1890 California had to establish a
lcprosarium, and Louisianan and fin
| ally Massachusetts followed suit.
In 1902 the Public Health Service
! found 27S lepers in the United States,
! l45 of whom had been born In this
| country, and only 73 Of whom were
under any restraint. Today, accord
| ing 20 the best estimate obtainable, ;,
there are from 500 to 1900 lepers in
| this country, number of whom are
| known to have acquired the disease in
he Philippines. When we acquired
| the Philippines several thousand lcp-
ers had to be and still are segregated
in settlement at Culion. Foci of
the disease exist in the United States
on the Pacific coast, in the Northwest,
in the Gulf States, and along the At
| lantic scaboard
1t was not until 1889 that the U. S.
Government took its first steps to
prevent lepers from coming to this
country; and the preventive laws are
now sufficiently explicit. Neverthe-
less. the long period during which the
! disease incubates before declaring it
| self makes it very difficult to shut out
all potential lepers. To meet this
difficulty the law provides that for
three years after admission, any alien
leper may be deported if the cause
, of the disease existed before he came
; to the United States. Within the
! United States lepers may not travel
in interstate commerce except under
permits prescribing special precaution
to prevent the spread of the disease.
! Protection against the disease Is
rendered difficult by the fact that
, lcprosy is found in very large por
tion of the habitable globe, ranging
! from Russia and Iceland to India and
America. North and South, and that
! the evcrincreasing ease of communi-
cation offers many facilities for its
! importation to the United States.
Nine lepers We're turned back at quar-
antine during the fiscal year 1920-2l.
! In February, 1917, Congress provid-
! ed for a national home for lepers to
be administered by the Public Health
Service, but SO stonrgly did the vari-
Gus States object to the founding of
such an asylum within their borders
TINT it was nur until four years inter
that the Service was able to carry
out the provisions Of the act by ac-
! quirng the State leper home in Louis
lana. Part of this home has been re-
modelled; and work on the remaining
necessary alterations and additions
| is proceeding.
The gloomy outlook for lepers has
recently been tinged with hope by the
discovery Of mode Of treatment in
. volving the use Of chaulmoogra OIL
which for 200 years has been reputed
! to h. Sf 'ol ,ff So,
| The oil itself is absorbed S;owly and
is apt TO cause painful abscesses; but
the hypodermic injection of its ethly
csters, devised by Dean, have supplied
q way by which it may be used with
out undue suffering. Since 1912 a
j.! total Of 1873 patients have been parol-
led from the Kalihi Investigating Sta
ton Of the Public Health Service in
| Hawaii GAO Of them since July 8,
| 1870 as being apparently cured. Of
course those who have received the
chaumoogra oil derivatives only IL
tS pcrcent) have returned for further
| treatment.
While it is too early to say that a
| spccifc cure for the disease has been
| found it is certain that the ethly
Constitute most valuable agent in
the treatment of leprosy, especially
Cor young persons and those in the
early stages of the disease; in older
persons and advanced cases the indi-
cations are less promising. On the
whole the results nave been sofavor-
allie as to make the outlook distinctly
hopeful. But only time can tell.
Tests Being Made