LEPROSY IN NORWAY.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 85, 6 September 1873, Page 3

LEPROSY IN NORWAY.

(Abridged from the Dunedin Star.) The following account of a visit to the Leper Hospital at Bergen, by the Rev. Frederick Met* calf, M.A., will be read with interest. The rev. gentleman says:—"Under the auspices of a German physician, I visited the Leper Hospital. It is a magmficient building of wood, lately constructed by the State, at an expense of 60,000 dollars, and kept up from the same source, private donations being unusual. In 1855 the old hospital was burned down at dead of night, and eight unfortunates were consumed. At present there are only 180 inmates. In the Jorgen Spital there are 130, and a few in another hospital in the town. This disease is generally supposed to be incurable. About twenty-five per cent, die in the course of the year. The chaplain, a burly, good-looking man, was in his canonicals, and about to bury a recently deceased patient on our arrival; he descanted on the horrors of the

place. With these I became personally acquainted on the arrival of Dr. , the physician of the establishment. ‘ Now gentlemen, if you please,’ said that functionary, putting on a blouse of black serge; ' bnt I warn you it is a terrible sight.’ Well, thought I to myself, I will go notwithstanding. The best antidote to the imaginary ills of life is to become acquainted with the real ones. Walking along the spacious corridors, we fir t entered a room devoted to male cases. Here, i a in all the other rooms, there were six beds. 1 conversed with one man affected with the smooth leprosy. He attributed it to his having slept in the same bed with a man affected with the disease. He was worn to the bone, and his face and body were blotched and copper-coloured. I will just glance at a small tract which has been published by the Government in respect to this foul and mysterious disease, which, after having been driven out of the other countries of Europe, still holds its ground on the sea-coast of Norway There are two sorts of leprosy, very' dissimilar in their outward symptoms, the one is called the knotted leprosy, the other the smooth leprosy. The first indications of the poison being in the system are lassitude and stiffness in the limbs. Sharp pains rack the frame, especially when it is warm, or on the eve of a change of weather. Cold shudderings also supervene, succeeded presently by fever, together with pains in the head,

thirst, loss of appetite, general listlessness and depression of spirits. Another symptom is a strong inclination to sleep, though sleep brings no refreshment to the limbs. In knotted leprosy, red spots and sores break out upon the body, especially on the face, which becomes much swollen. These are not accompanied with pain, and often disappear again, but with a new attack of fever they reappear, and at last become permanent.. They now grow larger and larger ; some of the knots attain the size of a hazel-nut, and are generally of a yellow-brown color, with occasionally a tint of blue. They are most frequent on the arms, hands, and face, but most of all about the eye-brows, which fall of in consequence. After a period of t imc—which is shorter or longer as the ease may be—pain is felt in these knots, and they then either turn into regular sores or become covered with a brown crust. The eyes, mouth and throat are next attacked, and the eyesight, breathing and swallowing are affected. In smooth leprosy the symptoms are large blisters and white spots, together with great pain and tenderness in various parts of the body. These vesicles are from the size of a hazel-nut to that of a hen’s egg, and are filled with a watery fluid. They are situated about the elbows and knees, occasionally under the sole of the foot and elsewhere, and soon burst. The spots which, in the smooth leprosy, occur on the body, are not brown as in the knotted leprosy, but white and of a larger size, sometimes being as big as a man’s hand ; they are covered with white scales. The pain and tenderness which occur in this kind of leprosy gradually disappear, and .are followed by utter absence of feeling. At this stage fire or the knife can be applied to the parts diseased without the patient, feeling it in the least. The patient now begins to get thin, his skin is dry, and his countenance distorted. He cannot shut his eyes, and he is not able to bring his lips together so as to cover the teeth ; besides this, the toes and fingers become contracted and rot off. Curiously enough, symptoms of both these horrible phases of a most loathsome disorder oecur in one and the same person ; in that case the knotted leprosy occurs first, and the knots gradually vanishing, the smooth leprosy supervenes. This frightful malady has been ascertained to be hereditary. At first the children seem to be quite healthy, but they conceal the germs of the complaint, which may at any time break out. Sometimes such children never do betray the presence of, the poison, certain defective sanitary conditions being necessary for its development, as an irregular way of life, defective clothing, bad lodgings or diet, want of personal cleanliness, and mental anxiety. Under such circumstances, persons who have no hereditary tinge may take complaint. A remarkable illustration of this occurred in Nord-Fjord. The owners of a -farm took the leprosy, and died. The farm was inherited by another family, who became infected with the disease, and died of it. A third family, who succeeded to the dwelling, also perished of the malady. On this, the owner of the house burnt it down. The Government- authorities finally recommended, as a means of getting rid of this dreadful disease, personal and household cleanli-

ness, proper apparel and lodging, wholesome diet (especially abstinence from half-rotten fish), moderation, particularly in the consumption of spirituous liquors ; and, above all they deprecate inter-marriage among those so affected. The present number of lepers in Norway is two thousand and fifty odd, or about one in every seven thousand.” We believe that Professor M'Gregor, when recently on a visit to Stewart’s Island, made diagnosis of a disease, some of the features of which bear a striking resemblance to those described in the foregoing paper. The sufferer in this cww was a Maori—indeed, the disease is not known to have extended in New Zealand beyond the aboriginals. Possibly a similarity in the habits of the Maoris and the Norwegians living on the coast-line indicates a similar pre-disposing cause of the disease.