SPECTRE OF LEPROSY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18242, 28 November 1924, Page 11

SPECTRE OF LEPROSY.

AUSTRALIAN SURVEY. AMAZING LAZARET CONDITIONS. ;. . (from our. own correspondent.) • ; . SYDNEY, November 10. The; horror of leprosy infection, although a remote contingency in Australia; is by no means an impossible one. Owing to tho vast'and widely separated areas in -which the disease occurs it is very difficult to cope -with, but even .allowing for this, the conditions existing- at the . lazaret at' Derby,' on the north-west coast of the continent,.as revealed in ■ a ■ report ■ submitted to the Western Australian Government byDr. .Cecil CooH) an-expert in, tropical diseases, "who was commissioned by the State and Federal Governments to make a .leprosy survey of Western Australia, are .very, disquieting, and show need for efficient measures such as he has recommended for the. control and treatment of this ancient affliction. In support of his contention that immediate action must be. taken against the spread of the disease, Dr. Cook..says that amongst the whites'the squalor of the far north camp will give ample opportunity for that requisite intimacy of contact .between leper and susceptible that is believed to be necessary before infection can result. Moreover, the practice amongst whites of entertaining travellers, all and sundry, is a risky one- once lepers commence to roam the countryside. Amongst tha .blacks conditions are known' to be' ideal for the spread ' of disease -in - camps.' At the same time that the conditions are so favourable for the spread of disease,-the sparseness' of ■the population and the rarity of already infected cases renders the present an ideal time for combating the disease.

building "in use as a lazaret at Derby," says Dr. Cook, "is an old wooden house in the same paddock as the general hospital and the native isolation (venereal) ward. There is nothing to prevent or even to dissuade tho inmates of any one of the buildings fraternising with those of the others. The lazaret building is in great disrepair. Whilst the walls are complete, the windows are for the most part missing and the doors unhung; The inside is painted and kept clean." He proceeds to discuss the complaints that inmates; of the lazaret are allowed a certain amount of freedom to go on fishing and other expeditions, and come in contact with natives" from the town of Derby, who carry the fish back to their whito employers. . Also that visitors are allowed. He points , out the difficulty of more strict control in the present circumstances, and emphasises the fact .that .while a native ,is easily contented with food, housing, and,a little company, 'if these are lkcking'he' will go in search of them, and "be very difficult to return to ' confinement.

''arrogates to itself the right to deprive these unfortunates, of their liberty, and to add .to the horrors of incurable disease'the miseries of "lifelong imprison-ment^-surely it also assumes the responsibility ; of.,. housing them.in 1 comfort and endeavouring.to ensure .that their dragging years of decline shall pass with the minimum of suffering. It.is.to be hoped that the lazaret of the future -will be a haven of refuge bought by the leper, rather -than a - loathsome'prison .to be avoided it' 'need be by suicide."' Dr. Coot's chief' recommendation, which is noWbefore the Federal' Government,.is that, an ; up-to.-diate la?aret,. ivjiere modern therapeutic methods could be applied, should-be- established, convenient to Darwin, and be used for the accomof all;lepers..in t'he North' of Australia.