The Spread of Leprosy. 8i 



have to guide them, they would not be justified, under 

 the present rulings on the subject, in going to any expense 

 under the Public Health Ordinance, as lep.osy is not 

 considered a contagious disease. 



Dr. GAIRDNER, of Glasgow, in the British Medical 

 Journal of iith January, 1887, relates a startling case 

 where leprosy was contracted by an European, and re- 

 cently M. BESNIER read a paper before the Academy of 

 Medicine of Paris, which showed conclusively that leprosy 

 was propagated by contact; but owing to the long incu- 

 bation period of the disease, it is most difficult to so trace 

 contagion in a given case as to satisfy the exact require- 

 ments of science. One of the most interesting and 

 painful episodes in the history of leprosy is that of the 

 Sandwich Islands. In these Islands some years ago 

 leprosy was unknown, but owing to the introduction of 

 Chinese and others suffering from leprosy, the disease 

 rapidly spread, and to-day at the Island of Molakai there 

 is a large leper community comprised, on 1st April, 1888, 

 of 942 souls, viz., 740 lepers, 144 friends and relatives, 

 and 38 peasants or original inhabitants of the Island. 

 Regarding this place, the British Medical Journal of 

 23rd February, 1888, states: — " The very extensive pre- 

 valence of leprosy in the Hawaian Islands can no longer 

 be denied, and it constitutes a very serious problem for 

 the Government of that Kingdom. The mere expendi- 

 ture in money annually reaches a very considerable 

 sum, amounting probably to not much Ic^s than 5 per 

 cent, of the total revenue. The evil has attained such 

 large proportions that only by the most rigid enforce- 

 ment of the law compelling the segregation of lepers 

 can it be combated ; this appears to be now fully recog- 



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