History and current situation of measures against leprosy Japan and the world

• Published in: JAPANESE JOURNAL OF LEPROSY Vol. 87; no. 2; pp. 73 - 90
• Main Author: Mori, Shuichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Japanese Leprosy Association 2018
• Subjects: archives; Hansen’s disease; history; isolation policy; public health policy
• ISSN: 1342-3681; 1884-314X
• DOI: 10.5025/hansen.87.73

  Isolation of leprosy patients beginning in the Middle Ages of Europe was a religious isolation based on the doctrine of Christianity. It was terminal care with compassion for the purpose of protecting the patient, but the patient had to finish his life in Lazaretto. This aspect deeply engulfed people the image of leprosy as diseases isolated, diseases of fear, dark and dusky. A plague epidemic starting in the 14th century became the greatest tragedy in European history, and one third of the population died out. Pest epidemic continued until the 18th century, and cholera also became popular from the 19th century. In the epidemic of plague and cholera, in Europe, developed public health policies mainly against measures against infectious diseases and opposed it. As a result, the European public health policy was forced to sacrifice minorities with the aim of maximizing maximum happiness, and was established in the 19th century with the development of bacteriology.   Leprosy was prevalent in the 19th century in Canada, Hawaii, Norway and Germany. It began with management as a genetic disease at the beginning, became to be considered as an infection eventually, Mycobacterium leprae (Lepidoptera) was discovered by Hansen in 1873, and then overcome by overcrowding as a public health policy I was tried. Isolation was strict, but protection was also secured by Christian missions and isolation aimed at terminal care was also done. The former strongly aimed at transition from religion to science mainly in the United States, scientific measures were taken based on the “International Conference”. The latter was centered on British Christianity mission, with the dignity and compassion of human being the center of its activities. Two isolation became the tide of the world in the modern age, eventually leading to the trial of the isolation policy based on science and compassion.   Chemotherapy starting with Promine in 1943 changed Hansen’s disease from incurable disease to diseased disease, science learned from the spirit of religion, changed the isolation as public health policy, religion was a remedy for patients who respect scientism , Aiming to escape from the concept of isolation in the Middle Ages. Eventually, this result fruited as WHO’s measures against leprosy, isolation policy shifted to outpatient treatment, and WHO policy of multidrug therapy (MDT) began in 1981. With the progress of this policy, the number of leprosy patients worldwide has drastically decreased, and in 2010 only one country where leprosy is a public health problem became one country. It was also the end of the history of the tragedy of leprosy for thousands of years.   The history of leprosy gave humanity a number of tragedies, but the way to overcome it has given us a lot of lessons. Today, utilizing what we learn from the history of leprosy to the future will be our mission living in the era when leprosy is about to be overcome. In this paper, while examining the process of religion and science overcoming leprosy, I will clarify the history of leprosy and I would like to think about the significance of telling the history as archives as a history.