The Trend of Leprosy Treatment

Kim, In Kwon

Abstract

Since Mycobacterium Leprae was founded by Dr. Armauer Hansen in 1873, leprosy was proven to infectious disease by a germ not from hereditaty, from a cause, or from sin. For it has no definite method of treatment, made a conclusion at the 1st international leprosy association meeting at Berlin in 1897, isolation is the only way to prevent the disease. So all country started to built a leprosarium and isolated the leprosy patients. Various methods and drugs were used for leprosy treatment including potassium iodide, arsenic, antimony, copper, sera, vaccines and aniline dyes and then X-ray, radium, electric current till 1925. Chaulmoogra oil was introduced to western world in 1854 by Dr. FJ Mouat and used for the leprosy treatment drug. Dr RM Wilson in Kwangju Leprosy Hospital started to use Chaulmoogra oil since 1909 and reported the results of it at JAMA in 1923. But it was replaced to sulfones in 1940'. Mordern treatment started in 1937 when Parke-Davis co. synthesized promin But promin is expensive and have to injection. Then Dapsone delivered from promin and it could be used per oral. Dr. RM Wilson In Aeyang Hospsoital (former Kwangju leposy hospial) started to use Dapson in 1946 with his son Dr. J Wilson. And it was the first episode to use DDS in Korea. When Dr. Cochraine came and visited all the leprosy centers in Korea in 1955 he noticed that some hospital like Aeyangwon and St. Nazarus used DDS but not other hospital. DDS was adopted as main drug of choice in Carville, Loisiana but noticed dapsone resistant bacilli and then WHO recommended the MDT from 1981.