Leprosy : summary of recent work no. 5.

Date:
1925
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Leprosy : summary of recent work no. 5. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    some years before contracting the disease, as in the case of the former well known Dublin infection : an easily avoidable and quite unnecessary exposure. | es SEYFARTH (C.). Ein Besuch in der Leproserie ‘* Spina longa ’’ bei ' Kreta (Griechenland). [A Visit to the “ Spina Longa ” Leprosery off Crete.|—Deut. Med. Woch. 1925. Apr. 17 & 24. Vol. 51. Nos. 16 & 17. pp. 665-666. With 10 text figs. & pp. 705-706. [5 refs. | The author gives an interesting account of the leper colony established in 1904 at Spina Longa, an old ruined island-fortress off the coast of the larger island of the same name in the Bay of Mirabella, north-east Crete. It has now become the leper colony for the whole of Greece. The lepers occupy themselves in housework, gardening, and the preparation of their food. Among the 210 are rather more men than women, mostly between the ages of 35 and 50. The youngest is a © lad of 16, the youngest woman is 25. There are also a few older patients up to 70 or 75 years of age. The number always remains about 200-250. The average number of deaths each year is 30 and the number of fresh arrivals about the same. All the inhabitants of the island are lepers with the exception of four elderly wives who accompanied their leprous husbands voluntarily to the leper colony. None of them show any signs of leprosy. One case of infection, however, has occurred in one of the boatmen who bring over the raw foodstuffs daily from Plaka. After 8 years of such intercourse he developed leprous rhinitis at the age of 35, followed by nodularleprosy. Marriages between the lepers are not rare. The author was shown, a 4 weeks oid infant born of leprous parents. Since 1904, 12 others have been born on Spina Longa and survived. All are said to be quite healthy, and 9 of them have been transferred to an orphanage at Athens after living with their parents on Spina Longa from birth to various ages from 6 months to 10 years. Two others have been adopted by relatives. All stages and forms of the disease were seen. The following are the proportions :— Nodular leprosy... ae tse < about 30 patients. Nerve leprosy” .... ae ae aa - 70 = Mixed forms ... : 100 a The author draws attention to the almost unrivalled wealth of material on Spina Longa for the study of leprosy, and concludes with some proposals for the improvement of the colony, which he considers is very appropriately situated. When the island has been transformed into a worthy sanatorium for lepers it will be possible to carry out a systematic scheme for the control of leprosy in Greece and Crete. At the present time, unfortunately, the Greek Government is not in a position to make the necessary improvements. Le TORNABUONI (Giuseppe). La Lepra nella Toscana Marittima.— Riforma Med. 1925. Feb. 9. Vol. 41. No. 6. pp. 140-141. Believing that the number of lepers was greater than the published records would indicate, the author made enquiries and investigations in Pisa, Liverna, Lucca, and in part of Spezia, and discovered 32 cases
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