Leprosy in India : a report / by T.R. Lewis and D.D. Cunningham.

  • Timothy Richards Lewis
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Leprosy in India : a report / by T.R. Lewis and D.D. Cunningham. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    20/88 page 14
    LEPEOSY, AS OBSERVED IN KUMAON. In accordance with instructions wliich we received from the Government of India, we proceeded to Almora, the head- quarters of the Kumaun and Garhwal Division, early in May last, for the purpose of commencing a series of systematic observations regarding leprosy. The Commissioner, General Sir Henry Eamsay, had specially addressed the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces, pointing out the urgency of such an investigation, and strongly recommending the Kumaun district as peculiarly adapted for its prosecution. General Ramsay writes in May 1875 : It would he impossi- ble to find anywhere in India so suitable a locality as Kumaun for pursuing a thorough and complete investigation into the whole subject of leprosy. At Almora we have an asylum containing on an average 100 lepers, labouring under every form and stage of the disease, whose family history can be ascertained to the minutest detail. In the district there are many hundreds either wandering alone as beggars or residing at their homes, whose history could be gathered with perfect accuracy. Such a record would give a mass of statistics which would admit of some reliable deductions being drawn, as to whether it is possible to deal with this loathsome disease. In my opinion it is necessary that something should be attempted. If, on inquiry, it is foimd that nothing can be done, then it will be so far satisfactory to have ascertained that as a fact; but in the absence of that knowledge it appears to me wrong that this fearful disease should be allowed to continue to spread itself amongst the population if any measures can be taken to prevent it. In this the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John Strachey, coincides, and adds that the field of inquiry, while suf&ciently large, will not be unmanageable in extent. Writing in 1874i to the India Office, the Army Sanitary Commission, in reiterating its The Army Sanitary Commis- SUggCStioU that tllC wliolc Subject i^stlona?^'''''''''^''^ Of leprosy should be examined in India, says :— The first step towards this examination is to obtain accurate statistics
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3