Leper colony
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
A leper colony or leprosarium is a place to quarantine people with leprosy (Hansen's disease) from the rest of the population.
History
Leper colonies or houses often run along monastic lines, and became popular in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India. Historically, leprosy was greatly feared because it caused visible disfigurement and disability, was incurable, and was commonly believed to be highly contagious. A leper colony administered by a Christian religious order was often called a lazar house, after the parable of Lazarus the Beggar.
While some colonies were located on islands or in remote locations in order to ensure quarantine, some leper houses were placed on main roads, where donations would be made for their upkeep. Debate exists over the conditions found within historical leper colonies; while they are currently thought to have been grim and neglected places, there are some indications that life within a leper colony or house was no worse than the life of other, non-quarantined individuals. There are also records of people faking leprosy in order to live in the colonies[citation needed]. There is even doubt that the current definition of leprosy can be retrospectively applied to the medieval condition. What was classified as leprosy then covers a wide range of skin conditions that would be classified as distinct afflictions today.
Some leper colonies issued their own money (such as tokens), in the belief that allowing lepers to handle regular money could spread the disease[citation needed]. The discovery of an effective treatment for leprosy in 1982, combined with the realization that leprosy was not a particularly communicable disease (roughly 95% of the population is naturally immune) led to the decline of leper colonies around the world. Some colonies remain in areas where treatment for leprosy is not universally available, or where traditional attitudes regarding leprosy as 'unclean' have discouraged re-integration. Famous or long-surviving leper colonies were located in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, USA; Okinawa, Japan; Chacachacare, Trinidad and Tobago; Spinalonga, Crete; Carville, Louisiana, USA; Zoquiapan, Mexico; Losheng Sanatorium in Taiwan; Sorokdo Island in South Korea, Derby on the coast of Western Australia, and Fantome Island in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon on the coast of North Queensland, Australia.
Political aspects
In 2001, government-run leper colonies in Japan came under judicial scrutiny, leading to the determination that the Japanese government had mistreated the patients, and the District Court ordered Japan to pay compensation to former patients.[1] In 2002, a formal inquiry into these colonies was set up, and in March of 2005 the policy was strongly denounced. "Japan's policy of absolute quarantine... did not have any scientific grounds."[1] The inquiry denounced not only the government and the doctors that are involved with the policy but also the court that repeatedly ruled in the favour of the government when the policy was challenged, as well as the media, which failed to report the plight of the victims. There are about 7,000 records of forced abortion and sterilisation. In some instances, it was reported that babies were suffocated after birth.[1]
See also
References
External links
fr:Léproserie he:מושבת מצורעים ja:ハンセン病患者の隔離 nl:Leprozerie no:Leprosarium
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
