The Only Difference Between Them And
You Or Me Is That The Disease Is Lying Dormant In Their Bodies And
May At Any Future Time Commit Another Ravage.
Leprosy is as old as history.
References to it are found in the
earliest written records. And yet to-day practically nothing more
is known about it than was known then. This much was known then,
namely, that it was contagious and that those afflicted by it should
be segregated. The difference between then and now is that to-day
the leper is more rigidly segregated and more humanely treated. But
leprosy itself still remains the same awful and profound mystery. A
reading of the reports of the physicians and specialists of all
countries reveals the baffling nature of the disease. These leprosy
specialists are unanimous on no one phase of the disease. They do
not know. In the past they rashly and dogmatically generalized.
They generalize no longer. The one possible generalization that can
be drawn from all the investigation that has been made is that
leprosy is FEEBLY CONTAGIOUS. But in what manner it is feebly
contagious is not known. They have isolated the bacillus of
leprosy. They can determine by bacteriological examination whether
or not a person is a leper; but they are as far away as ever from
knowing how that bacillus finds its entrance into the body of a non-
leper. They do not know the length of time of incubation. They
have tried to inoculate all sorts of animals with leprosy, and have
failed.
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