[5 leprosy cases in the 20th century in Switzerland].

Abstract

Leprosy had a great impact on everyday life during the Middle Ages, which is reflected in many works of art and also in some preserved buildings. Worldwide, leprosy is still an unsolved problem; this fact has led the World Health Organization to develop a specific strategy to fight the disease. For physicians in Europe, leprosy has lost its significance. In the archives of the Swiss Canton of Valais leprosy in the 20th century is documented by photographs and written records. It is deplorable to see how a young woman can become crippled, lose her eyesight and die within a couple of years. Probably a pocket of leprosy persisted since the Middle Ages in this remote mountain area. The limited contagiousness of the disease is astonishing, since only a few of the closest family members and inhabitants of the some house were infected, while others remained healthy. The social situation of these patients at the beginning of this century was pitiable. The federal laws on epidemics of 1886 did not mention leprosy, as no one seemed to believe in its existence in Switzerland. Even after the cases of leprosy in the Canton of Valais were revealed, the reaction of the political authorities was reserved. An engaged effort by the involved physicians was necessary to establish the appropriate hygienic measures. In the literature of the time there were regular reports of cases in people who emigrated from the endemic areas. Today, in Switzerland one case of leprosy is discovered per year; thus, leprosy is still a disease which physicians must cope with.