Hawaii apologizes to former leprosy patients Aug 14, 2008
KALAUPAPA, HAWAII Hawaii has delivered a long-awaited apology to former leprosy patients forcibly confined to a remote peninsula on the island of Molokai ... The Hawaiian Kingdom, and then later the republic, territory and state of Hawaii, together banished 8,000 people with leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, to Kalaupapa for over a century after 1866 in an attempt to control the illness. (Globe and Mail -- International)
Report: Up to 2 Years for Foreigners With AIDS to Enter... Aug 12, 2008
Primarily, HIV needs to be deleted from the agency's list of communicable diseases of public health significance, which includes tuberculosis, gonorrhea and leprosy, the Express-News says. Advocates of the change told the paper that despite delays, the hardest part is now over. (Fox News)
USA to open borders to those with AIDS... Aug 11, 2008
The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services still needs to delete HIV from the agency's list of communicable diseases of public health significance, which includes tuberculosis, gonorrhea and leprosy. An HHS spokeswoman declined to comment, noting administrators are still reviewing the new law. (The Drudge Report)
Hawaii Teacher's Cure Clears Way for a New Saint Aug 10, 2008
Defying Chang and the pleas of her husband and two sons, Toguchi caught a flight from Honolulu to the remote peninsula of Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai to pray at the grave of the priest who had ministered to people with leprosy until he, too, caught it and died in 1889 ... Nine years later he began ministering to leprosy patients on Molokai, where some thousands had been banished amid an epidemic in Hawaii in the 1850s. (Fox News)
Alaska cases of infectious diseases drop Aug 10, 2008
Other notable diseases reported in Alaska in 2007 included: hepatitis A and B: 14 cases; hepatitis C: 1,141 cases (number includes old chronic cases); pneumococcal invasive disease (including pneumonia): 149 cases; salmonellosis, 87 cases; Lyme disease: 10 cases; shigellosis: eight cases; E. coli infections: five cases; malaria: two cases; vibriosis (including cholera): two cases; rheumatic fever: one case; leprosy (Hansen disease): one case. Find George Bryson online at or call 257-4318. (Anchorage Daily News)
Humbled’ Charles City resident experiences differences, challenges in trip to India Aug 8, 2008
We also visited a home Rotary was providing for children of parents of both have leprosy. Education, Rogotzke said, is a high priority in India. (Charles City Press, IO)
Jharkhand govt to set up three medical colleges Aug 5, 2008
A TB hospital will be set up at Itki while a hospital for leprosy patients will come up in Brambe. Jharkhand, which has three government medical colleges in Ranchi, Dhanbad and Jamshedpur, needs more such institutions, the minister said. (Economic Times)
Letters to the Telegraph Aug 4, 2008
Sir The Chinese authorities have reversed their ruling preventing people affected by leprosy from entering China (report, July 25) ... Last month the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their families ... It is therefore interesting to note, from instructions issued by the UK Border Agency of the Home Office, that a person applying for entry to the United Kingdom would be refused... (Telegraph.co.uk)
Cured typhoid patients 'locked in asylum for decades' Aug 1, 2008
Professor Pennington said many of the carriers would have been treated the same if they had leprosy, another disease that was not easily transmitted. Once you've been locked up in a mental hospital. (The Canberra Times)
AIDS funding binds longevity of millions to U.S. Jul 26, 2008
Direct medical care of individuals was limited to one-time interventions such as vaccinations, emergency treatment after natural disasters, and curative treatments of limited duration for diseases such as tuberculosis or leprosy. advertisement. (MSNBC -- International)
* World News Quick Take Jul 26, 2008
Foreign leprosy ban lifted. The government has lifted a ban on foreigners with leprosy being allowed into the country, but people with sexually transmitted diseases and mental illnesses remain unwelcome, state media reported on Thursday ... The ban on leprosy sufferers was removed this week after the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution aimed at eliminating discrimination against people with the disease, Xinhua news agency said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
China removes ban on foreign leprosy sufferers Jul 25, 2008
BEIJING, July 25 -- A ban on foreign leprosy sufferers and their relatives entering China was lifted on Sunday, in a bid to end discrimination against them, a quarantine official said Thursday ... "The reason we lifted the ban is because China has made a commitment to the international community to end discrimination against leprosy sufferers," Xia said ... On June 2, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution on the elimination of discrimination against people with leprosy and... (Xinhuanet, China)
Is the U.N. Deadline on Curing Malaria Wishful Thinking? Jul 23, 2008
Other recent triumphs include the control of polio, leprosy and guinea worm. Still, the timing will be very tight and will require an unprecedented degree of coordination among financing, training, monitoring and logistics. (Scientific American)
Diseases not a statistical game Jul 20, 2008
I did a very simple google search using such key words as infectious diseases, illegal aliens, tuberculosis and leprosy in various combinations ... Although both critics of the guest commentaries questioned the statistics, they dwelled mainly on the reported number of cases of leprosy presently in our country ... Dr. Cosman clearly confirms the often reported number of 7,000 and reports in her video that one of her prior students runs a major leprosy clinic. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
* Farmers insurance measure passes Jul 19, 2008
Before going into recess last night, the legislature also passed a statute of human rights protection and compensation for Hansens Disease patients (~ffwHvOv), which details measures that the government must take to compensate leprosy sufferers. According to the statute, leprosy patients forced by the government to live in seclusion since 1945 are entitled to apply for compensation. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Religion briefs Jul 18, 2008
HONOLULU -- Renewed interest in the story of a Roman Catholic priest who ministered to leprosy patients in 19th-century Hawaii has prompted a parish to lay plans for a museum in his honor. The pending canonization that will transform the Rev. Damien de Veuster from "blessed" to "saint" has revived interest in artifacts connected to the priest. (Orangeburg Times and Democrat, SC)
Ancient bones could yield TB clue Jul 17, 2008
Although the focus will be on TB, the researchers will also test for signs of leprosy, leishmania and malaria. The disease was well known in antiquity, and it has infected a third of the world's present-day population, resulting in three million deaths each year. (BBC News -- Science)
Excavated Jericho Bones May Help Israeli-Palestinian-German Team Combat Tuberculosis Jul 16, 2008
Mark Spigelman of the Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who is leading the Israeli team, the bones, which were all excavated by Dr. Kathleen Kenyon between fifty and seventy years ago, will be tested for tuberculosis, leprosy, leishmania and malaria ... 19, 2005) The spread of tuberculosis may have killed off leprosy in Europe in the Middle Ages, according to research published in the latest issue of the Royal Society... (Science Daily)
The world is a happier place Jul 13, 2008
Most of us are living much longer and healthier lives; dreaded diseases like smallpox and leprosy are unheard of now. Spending power is rising with each generation, and that means more houses, vehicles and entertainment options. (India Times, India)
Tuberculosis May Have Migrated From Humans To Cattle, Not The Reverse Jul 13, 2008
18, 2005) What caused leprosy -- a widely dreaded disease in medieval Europe -- to fade from the scene. By the 16th century, the scourge had practically disappeared. (Science Daily)
Strong social and community action needed: Pratibha Patil Jul 8, 2008
In her address she referred to the measures that the TTD has taken for education, healthcare with special focus on the physically-challenged and leprosy inflicted social-security of the aged, infirm and the destitute. She made a particular reference to the latest society-centric scheme Kalyanamasthu through which the TTD conducts mass marriages in different cities of Andhra Pradesh for the benefit of the poor. (Hindu)
Britain Rules Out Badger Cull to Fight TB in Cattle Jul 8, 2008
While most strains of the disease are harmless to animals and humans, some forms can lead to leprosy, Johne's disease and avian bird flu. A cull is strongly opposed by wildlife groups such as the Badger Trust and the animal welfare charity RSPCA, although many cattle farmers support it. (Planet Ark, United States)
Aiea woman excited for her saint in making Jul 5, 2008
Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI approved the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Belgian priest, who cared for leprosy patients in Kalaupapa, Molokai ... Canonization awaits for Damien now that Pope Benedict XVI has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Belgian priest, who cared for leprosy patients in Kalaupapa ... Toguchi, a retired social studies teacher and granddaughter of a leprosy patient who had been banished to Molokai, said Damien is deserving of sainthood. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Damien miracle passes papal muster Jul 4, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI today approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of a 19th century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii opening the way for him to be declared a saint ... Nine years later, he began ministering to leprosy patients on the remote Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai, where about 8,000 people had been banished amid an epidemic in Hawaii in the 1850s. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Kalaupapa exults 'Saint' Damien Jul 4, 2008
The priest who devoted his life to leprosy patients on Molokai will be canonized ... Sister Frances said people at the Kalaupapa convent "have been waiting forever, it seems," for the canonization of Father Damien, who ministered to leprosy patients at Kalaupapa in the 1800s. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Father Damien one step closer to sainthood Jul 3, 2008
A document recommending sainthood for Father Damien De Veuster, who cared for leprosy patients at Kalaupapa, Molokai, is expected to be presented to Pope Benedict XVI tomorrow for his signature. If the Pope approves the recommendation, the next step would be to set a date for canonization, most likely in February, the Rev. Ed Popish, general treasurer of the congregation of the Sacred Hearts said by e-mail today from the order's headquarters in Rome. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Roman Catholic Priest Moves Closer to Sainthood Jul 3, 2008
HONOLULU -- The path to sainthood has grown shorter for a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium who ministered to exiled leprosy patients in Hawaii in the 19th century. Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday was to be presented a document confirming that a modern miracle has been attributed to Father Damien de Veuster. (Newsmax)
A Deadline on Malaria (Extended version) Jun 26, 2008
Other recent triumphs, based on the up-scaling of powerful and easily deliverable technologies, include the control of polio, leprosy and guinea worm. Still, the timing will be very tight and will require an unprecedented coordination of financing, training, monitoring and logistics. (Scientific American)
Hindu Marriages Act has broken more homes than uniting: judge Jun 18, 2008
Justice Pasayat said: The provisions under the Hindu Marriages Act for granting divorce on grounds of either of the spouses suffering from diseases like leprosy and mental illness are being misused by some couples. Those days, our forefathers never had such problems and marital disputes were sorted out within the four walls of the house. (Hindu)
Splendour in the dirt Jun 10, 2008
There, it was widely considered to be the devil's own work, growing as it does in the devil's lair, below ground, and surely the cause of leprosy given that it looked so like a deformed limb. Laugh all you like but food superstition still holds the potato in its grip: 4. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Fantasy vs. reality Jun 10, 2008
There is no mention of leprosy or the other terrors suggested by Mr. Severe. The list that Mr. Severe used, and ascribed to the CDC, is actually from a Minuteman Web site. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
spiritual Summer School Jun 5, 2008
The orange stickers are symbolic of leprosy ... Zebarth, who is studying to be a minister, tells the kids they have leprosy just like people in the Bible ... Zebarth explains how kids can t even go trick-or-treating if they have leprosy. (Logan Herald Journal, UT)
She battles disease, poverty in developing countries Jun 2, 2008
She saw people with leprosy. And she was outraged. (Boston Globe)
Cardiologist welcomed to hospital staff at Wood Fire May 31, 2008
He won a number of prizes for academic proficiency, including: the Maxwell O. Phelps, M.D., Award for scholarship at the University of Connecticut internal medicine program, 1994-95; the Lord and Lady Willington Prize for proficiency in clinical medicine; the Lt. Col. R.B.B. Foster gold medal for the highest mark; the second certificate of honor for success at the examination of tuberculosis; the Dr. C. Nadarajan Prize for proficiency in leprosy; the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh Prize for... (Dowagiac News, MI)
Nonprofit focuses on getting its products on the market May 28, 2008
The organization develops vaccines, treatments and testing technologies for diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis and leprosy, that affect some of the world's poorest people. In addition to pursuing the nonprofit's strategic plan, Davis will work on future funding, strengthen the nonprofit's board of directors and expand its ties with biotech companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, which is studying a tuberculosis vaccine in conjunction with IDRI.. (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)
A tug of war May 23, 2008
NGOs who clamour for CL for anticancer and anti HIV drugs must remember that there are a host of other diseases like diabetes, hypertension, CRF, tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy etc afflicting million of Indians. Do we then grant CL to all such drugs. (Express Pharma)
Traveling with Gary Player May 17, 2008
In fact, one of Gaquin's favorite memories is of the golf clinic he attended for leprosy patients in Carville, La. where Faulkner was one of the star attractions. (Boston Globe)
Sonora surgeon's license suspended May 17, 2008
Edwards, a Chicago native and Yale and Baylor College of Medicine graduate, previously has traveled to South America to perform the peripheral nerve surgery on leprosy patients. Day said he would be willing to help bring another doctor in to Sonora Regional Medical Center so that the procedure can continue locally. (The Union Democrat)
* LETTER: Risks of rights violations May 15, 2008
The Lo Sheng Sanatorium, located in Sinjhuang City, Taipei County, is the first and only national leprosy sanatorium in Taiwan ... The county government plans to relocate the residents to the fifth and ninth floors of the newly built high-rise Hui-Long Hospital, which is unsuitable for persons affected by leprosy, as it does not provide an open space community and home-based model, as recommended by the WHO. ... The planned eviction would not only deny the residents their basic human right to... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
ANDREW SULLIVAN: HIV positive can't become citizens May 15, 2008
Even leprosy and tuberculosis are left to the discretion of the secretary of health and human services. The ban can be traced to the panic that dominated discussion of the human immunodeficiency virus two decades ago. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
Illegal immigrants May 14, 2008
I wonder where this figure comes from, since the director of the National Hansen s Disease [leprosy] Program was quoted on 30 May 2007 as saying that there were only 137 cases in 2006 ( Truth, Fiction and Lou Dobbs in a N.Y. Times story by David Leonhart), and no official figures are available for 2007 ... Peter Caroline wrote on May 11, 2008 10:11 AM:" One case of leprosy is sufficient cause for alarm, if it's communicable and nearby. z6e4s ". (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
Read more... May 13, 2008
Father Damien De Veuster served leprosy patients quarantined at Kalaupapa for 16 years until his death from the disease in 1889 ... "This is what it used to be like," said Norbert Palea, 67, the youngest of the former leprosy patients quarantined in the isolated Molokai peninsula. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
4th health review meeting of NE state kicks off in Imphal May 13, 2008
The review meetings which will be held separately at eight different venues in Imphal will review the national programmes under health sectors like the national programme for control of blindness, national vector borne disease control programme, rectified national tuberculosis control programme, integrated disease surveillance programme, national immunization decontrol programme, AIDS control programme and national leprosy control programme etc. The review meetings are also continuing at RIMS... (KanglaOnline)
Health ministry team arriving on May 13 May 10, 2008
Other programmes to be reviewed in the meetings are the national immunization decontrol programme, AIDS control programme in consultation with the National AIDS Control Organization, NACO and national leprosy control programme. The review meetings will be held at the conference halls of RIMS, secretariat, Imphal Hotel, state guest house, family welfare, MACS and Hotel Continental. (KanglaOnline)
Molokai patients receive apology May 8, 2008
By Mary Adamski State lawmakers have approved a resolution that offers an apology and thanks to people who were quarantined in Kalaupapa because they were diagnosed with leprosy. The measure, adopted last month by both houses of the 2008 Legislature, acknowledged that thousands of island families were injured by the century-long isolation policy that government health officials deemed necessary to stop the spread of the disease. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Military: Campaign to get dead Marine Medal of Honor May 5, 2008
They were hungry and sick, suffering from afflictions ranging from shell shock to leprosy, according to the Marine pamphlet. By the battle's end, Gabaldon had rounded up 1,000 to 1,500 Japanese including a purported 800 in one day. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Medal of Honor for WWII Marine? May 4, 2008
They included women and children, and were hungry and suffering from shell shock, leprosy, dengue fever. Fearing the Americans, Japanese civilians blew themselves up with grenades or jumped off cliffs. (MSNBC -- Terrorism)
Health Mela at Ukhrul May 4, 2008
During the mela 20 stalls were opened for different departments such as medicine, surgery, paediatrics, orthopaedics, eye, dental, malaria, leprosy, TB, AIDS, MCH and family welfare etc. Two district mobile ambulances were also utilised in the mela. (E-Pao.net)
Bed hoppingMany high-fliers claim to be addicted to sex, but can they be? May 2, 2008
You don't hear of any of them having leprosy do you. Marc, Perth WA. (BBC News -- Health)
Guest Comment - Do we want to be Fortress Green Valley? (332) May 2, 2008
An example is the reported 7000 new cases of leprosy in the last three years. According to a March 2008 report from the Centers for Disease Control listing reported cases of diseases from 1975 to 2006, there were only 258 reported new cases of leprosy from 2004 through 2006 with the number dropping each year. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
Molokai's Top 5 Sights May 2, 2008
From 1866 to 1969, this is where generations of Hawaiians and other residents afflicted with Hansen's disease (then called leprosy) were forced into isolation and desperation. Father Damien, a Belgian priest, helped care for the sick and dying here for 16 years, creating schools and gardens and building homes and ) until he too died from the now-treatable disease in 1889; the island celebrates his arrival in 1873 with "Blessed Damien Day" on May 10. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Travel)
Safe scouts are cool again Apr 22, 2008
In India, Scouts and Guides have been working in projects to screen more than one million children for leprosy. In Africa, Scouts have taken responsibility for educating their peers on HIV and Aids. (The Sun)
* Nine percent of foreign workers fail health check Apr 22, 2008
The health checks include chest X-ray examination, tests for the AIDS virus, syphilis, parasite, and leprosy, as well as a general condition appraisal. This story has been viewed 597 times. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Forgotten leprosy facts Apr 19, 2008
"A stolen generations member's claim that Aboriginal children were taken from their families and used as guinea pigs to trial a leprosy drug has shocked the Federal Government into scouring its records for more information.". What's more, the reporter added, "another (unnamed) source" said he knew other people in Darwin who'd been injected with this leprosy "serum", too, which "may suggest such experimentation was systemic" ... Dr John Hargraves, for instance, is a leprosy expert who treated... (Melbourne Herald Sun)
* Aboriginal children possibly used in medical experiments Apr 16, 2008
Outside the hearing in the northern city of Darwin, Mills told reporters her uncle had been a medical orderly and had told her that children were used as guinea pigs for leprosy treatments and experiments ... If within the indigenous community there is a feeling that children may have been experimented upon for a treatment for leprosy or anything else, the air needs to be cleared. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Australia to probe medical testing claim Apr 16, 2008
Advocates for indigenous Australians alleged that Aboriginal children were used as test subjects for leprosy treatments in the 1920s and 1930s, sparking a government investigation. Kathleen Mills of the Stolen Generations Alliance told a Senate inquiry Tuesday that children with leprosy were injected with serums to gauge their reactions ... Warwick Britton, a professor of medicine at Sydney University, suggested the claims were "very unlikely" and said he was not aware of a leprosy serum ever... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Science)
Children were guinea pigs, inquiry told Apr 16, 2008
A STOLEN generations member's claim that Aboriginal children were taken from their families and used as "guinea pigs" to trial a leprosy drug has shocked the Federal Government into scouring its records for more information ... She said some children held at the city's Kahlin Compound in the 1920s and '30s had been injected with a leprosy serum that made them sick and almost killed them ... An expert on leprosy, Clem Boughton, said he had not heard of such claims but it was possible they were... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Aborigines 'used in experiments' Apr 16, 2008
Aborigine rights campaigner Kathleen Mills said she had heard of children being injected with a leprosy treatment and becoming very ill ... She later told journalists she had heard how children were injected with experimental treatments for leprosy. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Indigenous kids 'injected with leprosy treatments' Apr 15, 2008
Indigenous kids 'injected with leprosy treatments ... Injected with leprosy treatments, inquiry told ... She said he told her that children were used as "guinea pigs" for leprosy treatments. (NEWS.com.au)
Aboriginal leprosy shots to be probed Apr 15, 2008
The federal government will search health department archives to get to the bottom of claims members of the stolen generation were used as "guinea pigs" for leprosy treatments ... She said he told her that children were used as "guinea pigs" for leprosy treatments ... "It needs investigation. If within the indigenous community there is a feeling that children may have been experimented upon for a treatment for leprosy or anything else, the air needs to be cleared.". (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Guest Comment: Fear-generating tactics regarding the undocumented Apr 11, 2008
People like Don Severe and Mr. Meinert can generate a list of horrible diseases that make people cringe; i.e., Leprosy, Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, Polio, etc. With tourists going to all nations of the world, why focus on undocumented people as the threat to our health. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
Black Knight still a Player, even at 72 Apr 11, 2008
Hey, you don't play in 51 Masters by treating the workout room like a leprosy lair. There he was yesterday, at age 72, briskly walking up another fairway at the Augusta National Golf Club, just as he has every year but one since he first started playing the Masters in 1957. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA -- Sports)
Blood pressure enzyme can have tumor-sensing role Apr 8, 2008
However, cells similar to macrophages have been shown to produce ACE in response to pathogens such as sarcoid or leprosy, he says. . (EurekAlert!)
Lure for a cure Apr 7, 2008
"This program presents a significant opportunity," said Curt Malloy, president of Seattle's Infectious Disease Research Institute, which is developing vaccines for such tropical diseases as leishmaniasis, tuberculosis and leprosy. "Someday, if we got this money, we could put it toward creating a sustainable institute," Malloy said. (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)
Healthcare needs Apr 7, 2008
After the successful eradication of small pox and elimination of leprosy from the country, we are left with HIV-AIDS and TB as major health problems. India is the world capital of TB and it is a threat to the world economy. (India Times)
