L48 Anthro 3283 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Mycobacterium Leprae, Leper Colony, Smallpox
September 5
Epidemics
• Epidemics: (“upon the people”)
• Pandemic: epidemic across vast geography
• Transmission Methods
o Airborne
o Direct contact
o Fecal – oral
o Vector – borne
▪ Biological (fleas, ricks, mosquitoes) or mechanical (flies, rodents)
o Vertical (female to fetus/child)
• Leprosy (mycobacterium leprae)
o Airborne
o Nervous & respiratory system
o Vision problems & inflammation
o 400% higher mortality than general population
o WHO free drug cocktails
o 5 million in 80s …. Now 180,000 cases (60% in India)
o Middle Ages
▪ Soul, stigma, sartorial laws (clothing laws – wear particular clothing to
denote person has leprosy), space
▪ Leprosarium & colonies -> permanently situated
• However leprosy not 100% accurate to diagnose (people with
smallpox may be diagnosed as having leprosy)
▪ Virtuous care
• Virtue in caring for lepers (e.g. missionary medicine)
o British India: Leprosy Act of 1898
▪ Forced segregation to prevent reproduction
▪ Released in 1983
o Disease constructed on poverty
▪ 5% prevalence in endemic places
• Some do not show signs of leprosy -> hard to eradicate
• 5-15 year incubation – symptoms appear years after
• Overcrowded households
• Presence of railroads
• Unmet social needs & compromised population-level immune
function
o Global Leprosy Strategy (2010-2020, WHO)
▪ Case detection
▪ Focus on children to decrease long term disability
▪ Target efforts in endemic “community”
▪ Increase health care coverage + access for “marginal population”
