Aleper colony, also known bymany other names, is an isolated community for thequarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering fromleprosy.
M. leprae, the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread fromEast Africa through theNear East,Europe, andAsia by the 5th century before reaching the rest of the worldmore recently. Historically, leprosy was believed to be extremelycontagious anddivinely ordained, leading toenormous stigma against its sufferers. Other severeskin diseases were frequently conflated with leprosy and all such sufferers were kept away from the general public, although some religious orders provided medical care and treatment. Recent research has shownM. leprae has maintained a similarly virulent genome over at least the last thousand years, leaving it unclear which precise factors led to leprosy's near elimination in Europe by 1700. A growing number of cases following thefirst wave of European colonization, however, led to increased attention towards leprosy during theNew Imperialism of the late 19th century. FollowingG. A. Hansen's discovery of the role ofM. leprae in the disease, theFirst International Leprosy Conference held inBerlin in 1897 renewed interest and investment in the isolation of lepers throughout the Europeancolonial empires.
The development of modern treatments eliminated the need to isolate lepers as early as the 1940s; scientific arguments against the practice were made in the 1980s.[1] AlthoughWestern countries now generally treat cases of leprosy individually on anoutpatient basis, traditional isolated colonies continue to exist inIndia,China,Japan and some other countries.
Inmedieval Latin, a place for the isolation and care of lepers was known as aleprosaria,leprosarium, orleprosorium, names which are sometimes used in English as well.[2] The Latindomus leprosaria wascalqued in English asleper house,[3] withleper colony becoming by far the most common English term in the 1880s as the growing number of leprosy cases were discussed within the context ofEuropean colonialism. Less common synonyms include leper asylum, leper lodge, and leper hospital.[3] Other names derive from the figure of Lazarus inone of Jesus's parables,[4] treated by theCatholic Church during theMiddle Ages as a historical figure and as thepatron saint of bothlepers and theCrusaderOrder of Saint Lazarus, who administered the leper colony inJerusalem before spreading to other locations. This caused leper colonies to also be known aslazar houses[5] and, after the leper colony and quarantine centerLazzaretto Vecchio on theRepublic of Venice's tiny island of Sta. Maria di Nazaret in theVenetian Lagoon, aslazarets,lazarettes,[6]lazarettos, andlazarettas.[7][8] The nameleper[9] orleprosy village[10][11] is sometimes used for colonies in China, a calque of theMandarin namemáfēngcūn(t麻風村,s麻风村).
Although not all of the skin diseases (kushtha) discussed in the IndianVedas and theManusmriti were leprosy, some of them seem to have been, with the disease appearing in the subcontinent by at least 2000 BCE. The Indian religious texts and laws did not organize formal leper colonies but treated those afflicted with the disease asuntouchableoutcastes, forbidding and punishing any marriage with them while they suffered from the disease, which was considered bothcontagious and adivine retribution for sins of the sufferer's current orformer life. In legend, even kings were removed from power and left to wander in the forests while suffering from leprosy, although their position could be restored in the event of their recovery, whether through divine intervention orAyurvedic herbal remedies such aschaulmoogra oil.[14]
Similarly, thePersians[15] andIsraelites considered certain skin diseases to render people unclean and unfit for society, without organizing any special locations for their care; it seems likely, however, that the references to leprosy in theHebrew Bible andNew Testament are the result of a misunderstanding produced by theSeptuagint'sKoine Greek translation and subsequentLatin translations like theVulgate and originally referred to a variety of conditions such aspsoriasis before becoming associated with leprosy centuries later. This confusion of terms—and the related divine opprobrium—was then translated intomedicine in the medieval Islamic world in the 9th century.[16] The introduction of leprosy toSouthern Europe was blamed on the armies ofAlexander the Great andPompey the Great;ancient Greek andRoman physicians did not blame divine punishment and advocated various treatments but still usually advised that lepers be kept out of cities.[15] Someearly Christians sought to emulateJesus's example by personally ministering to lepers or communities of lepers, activity recorded inhagiographies likeGregory of Nyssa's life ofBasil of Caesarea.[15]
Leprosy seems to have reached the rest of Europe duringlate antiquity and theearly Middle Ages, with theImperial Roman Christian Church reducing formal restrictions on lepers while setting aside funds for leprosaria where clerics would treat the afflicted.[15] Such leper houses are documented in theKingdom of the Burgundians atSaint-Oyen, Savoie in 460 and inFrancia inChalon-sur-Saône in 570 andVerdun in 634 (all now inFrance);[15] their management was often provided byChristian monastic orders.[17] The area of modernBelgium alone may have had as many as 700 or 800 prior to theCrusades.[15]
TheOrder of Saint Lazarus was established to care for lepers in thecrusader state of theKingdom of Jerusalem and subsequently operated other leprosaria around Europe. Some colonies were located on mountains or in remote areas to ensure isolation, while others were situated on main roads, where donations would be made for their upkeep. Others were essentially hospitals within major cities. In 1623, theCongregation of the Mission of theCatholic Church, asociety of apostolic life founded byVincent de Paul, was given possession of the Priory of St. Lazarus, a former leper house in Paris, due to which the entire Congregation gained the name of "Lazarites" or "Lazarists" although most of its members had nothing to do with caring for lepers.
Debate exists over the conditions found within historical colonies; while they are currently thought to have been grim and neglected places, there are some indications that life within a leper colony or house was no worse than the life of other, non-isolated individuals. There is even doubt that the current definition of leprosy can be retrospectively applied to the medieval condition. What was classified as leprosy then covers a wide range of skin conditions that would be classified as distinct afflictions today.[18] Some leper coloniesissued their own money or tokens, in the belief that allowing people affected by leprosy to handle regular money could spread the disease.[19][20] Today, leper hospitals exist throughout the world to treat those afflicted with leprosy, especially in Africa, Brazil, China and India.[17]
In 2001, government-runleper colonies in Japan came under judicial scrutiny, leading to the determination that the Japanese government had mistreated the patients, and the district court ordered Japan to paycompensation to former patients.[21] In 2002, a formal inquiry into these colonies was set up, and in March 2005, the policy was strongly denounced. "Japan's policy of absolute quarantine... did not have any scientific grounds."[22] The inquiry denounced not only the government and the doctors who were involved with the policy, but also the court that repeatedly ruled in favor of the government when the policy was challenged, as well as the media, which failed to report the plight of the victims.[citation needed]
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