1 90 INFECTION AND IMMUNITY 



this policy. But the unreasonable fear of lepers, 

 which has existed from the earliest times, and is often 

 manifested at the present day, is evidently not justi- 

 fied, in view of the very remote danger of the disease 

 being contracted by any ordinary association with 

 them. The danger from tuberculosis is far greater, 

 and this disease claims nearly 150,000 victims an- 

 nually within the limits of the United States, yet 

 no one proposes the isolation of cases of pulmonary 

 tuberculosis, and indeed this is not necessary for the 

 prevention of the disease if the complete disinfection 

 of all infectious material can be secured that is, of 

 the material expectorated by those suffering from the 

 disease. In leprosy it will, of course, be advisable 

 to destroy all pus, saliva, etc., which contains the 

 bacillus, but we can scarcely insist upon the rigid 

 measures of disinfection which are essential for the 

 prevention of diphtheria, or smallpox, in view of the 

 fact that painstaking researches fail to show that 

 the disease, under ordinary conditions as they exist 

 to-day, is communicated to healthy individuals who 

 are associated in an intimate way with the sick. 



