The Plight of the Leper

Hansen's disease, more commonly known as leprosy, has always been surrounded by fear, disgust, pity, and curiosity. It is a disease that is not widely understood by the general population, even today, and is cursed by long-standing myths, folklore, and images. This lack of knowledge and false understanding caused, and continues to cause, the leprosy patient to be unfairly stigmatized and rejected. The "stigma of leprosy is often a greater handicap than the burden of the disease itself" (Chapman, 1982, p. xiv). This paper will attempt to clarify the basic facts surrounding leprosy, its biology, symptoms, and history, and show that one of the most important aspects of a leprosy patient's therapy is destigmatization and acceptance by the masses. The leper must be viewed and treated as a human being, with care and sensitivity. One must look past the physical deformities and changes and experience the person underneath. First, the basic biology of the bacterium causing leprosy and how the disease manifests itself in the human host will be addressed. Following this, the paper will focus on the history of leprosy, the public's reaction to it, the church's reaction to it, and the life that the leper himself leads.

In 1874, Dr. G. H. Armauer Hansen discov

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ed with uncleanliness and sin. Unfortunately, for many it still carries this connotation today. Most people saw leprosy as a sign of moral impurity or perversion (Brody, 1974, pp. 5, 11). Some saw the disease as divine punishment for sinfulness (Brody, 1974, p. 4). Certain psychological characteristics have been associated with leprosy, among them irritability, paranoia, and lustfulness. The belief that "leprosy, in its early stages, stirs the venereal appetite in a marked fashion" and that a "strange unbridled desire for pleasure flows in the veins of an incipient leper" (Brody, 1974, p. 12) has caused many to associate leprosy with sex and specifically with syphilis: "Thus, the 16th Century, in the medieval tradition, accepts leprosy as a readily contagious disease linked with moral impurity" (Brody, 1974, p. 58). The leper's life was one of torment not only caused by the physical deformity and deterioration experienced, but also by the psychological, social, and physical isolation forced on him by society, The way in which a leper was "diagnosed"--"neighbors accused and responsible and worthy citizens examined" (Richards, 1977, p. 41), and his subsequent treatment reflects the contempt and fear associated with this dis
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2482
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)