Leprosy patients and sufferers (lepers) were shunned by the populace and segregated by health authorities.
In China, lepers were segregated in leper villages or boat colonies.
In British Malaya, lepers were kept at different places:
1) Pulau Jerejak Leprosarium off Penang island (from 1860s onward)
2) Kuala Lumpur Leper Asylum or Setapak Camp in KL (1922 til 1929)
3) Sungai Buloh Settlement (1930 til today)
Sources:
In: Studies from the Institute for Medical Research, Federation of Malaya, Jubilee Volume No.25, The Institute for Medical Research 1900-1950, by various authors. Printed at the Government Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1951. Text on leprosy are mentioned on pages 252-257.
In: Doctors Extraordinaire by Ho Tak Ming. Published by the Perak Academy. 2nd edition, 2006. Chapter 15, Tuan Doctor, pages 197-206.
Personal communication with En Azman bin Abdul Majid, Unit Makmal, PKKN, Sungai Buloh. Friday, 6 July 2007
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Ancient cure for leprosy?
Chaulmoogra oil & Chinese herbs
Leprosy is ta ma feng in Chinese, and kusta in Indian and Malay.
Leprosy had been known in China since the Chou Dynasty in 6th century BC. One of the disciples of Confucius died of leprosy.
The causative agent of leprosy is Mycobacterium leprae. It thrives in cool temperatures. It is found in the Malayan tenggiling (armadillo) and damp soil - eg soil of shaded areas of villages which are surrounded by big trees.
[The causative agent of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is also found in cool and damp soil in the villages.]
It is interesting to note that there was an ancient cure for leprosy. This ancient recipe was used on lepers in the chaulmoogra 'clinical trial' at the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Kuala Lumpur (KL) in 1916. The chaulmoogra oil and sodium gynocardate were tested. From 1925 to 1928, a variety of chaulmoogra oils and derivatives were tested.
The Chaulmoogra tree at Pusat Kawalan Kusta Negara (PKKN)?
The chaulmoogra nut is described to resemble chestnuts. The oils were for topical use only (rubbed in).
Up til 1928, the standard treatment for leprosy was swallowing Chinese ground fresh kernels of the Malayan tree, pokok Setumpol (Hydrocarpus anthelmintica), known to the Chinese as Tai Foong Chee (great maple tree seeds). [These seeds or their ethyl derivatives were experimented at IMR.]
In 1948, Dr BD Molesworth started leprosy treatment with 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulphone on 2,000 lepers at Sungei Buloh Settlement. By 1949, there were 1,600 lepers who received injected sulphone or oral sulphetrone.
Sources:
In: Studies from the Institute for Medical Research, Federation of Malaya, Jubilee Volume No.25, The Institute for Medical Research 1900-1950, by various authors. Printed at the Government Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1951. Text on leprosy are mentioned on pages 252-257.
In: Doctors Extraordinaire by Ho Tak Ming. Published by the Perak Academy. 2nd edition, 2006. Chapter 15, Tuan Doctor, pages 197-206.
History of Leprosy. Standford University http://www.stanford.edu/group/parasites/ParaSites2005/Leprosy/history.htm
Personal communication with En Azman bin Abdul Majid, Unit Makmal, PKKN, Sungai Buloh. Friday, 6 July 2007
Victoria Institution
VI in KL
I visited my sister's home in Penang earlier this year. I had completed my work on my laptop for the night when I noticed a white plastic box underneath the staircase. I asked my sister what it contained and she replied "Gambar lama". I asked her if I could see them and she said, "You last sekali belum tengok gambar lama ni. Adik-beradik yang lain semua dah tengok. Yang ni je tinggal dia orang dah tengok tapi tak nak (ambil). You ambik lah bawak balik Kelantan". I told her I didn't want to bring all the old photos home but I would look at them that night. I stayed up til past 3 am to select photos which I wanted. I told my sister not to throw away the old photos.
I was going through some old b/w prints belonging to (most probably) my paternal grandfather when I noticed three photos which (I think) is the Victoria Institution (VI) in Kuala Lumpur (KL). What was striking was there were no trees near the rear of the VI building. The photos were probably taken from a hill, nearby tall building or a tower by (most probably) my paternal grandfather.
My paternal grandfather had sent photos of the VI to my father who was attending the Malayan Teachers' Training College at Kirkby, near Liverpool, Great Britain in 1951-1952.
I visited my sister's home in Penang earlier this year. I had completed my work on my laptop for the night when I noticed a white plastic box underneath the staircase. I asked my sister what it contained and she replied "Gambar lama". I asked her if I could see them and she said, "You last sekali belum tengok gambar lama ni. Adik-beradik yang lain semua dah tengok. Yang ni je tinggal dia orang dah tengok tapi tak nak (ambil). You ambik lah bawak balik Kelantan". I told her I didn't want to bring all the old photos home but I would look at them that night. I stayed up til past 3 am to select photos which I wanted. I told my sister not to throw away the old photos.
I was going through some old b/w prints belonging to (most probably) my paternal grandfather when I noticed three photos which (I think) is the Victoria Institution (VI) in Kuala Lumpur (KL). What was striking was there were no trees near the rear of the VI building. The photos were probably taken from a hill, nearby tall building or a tower by (most probably) my paternal grandfather.
Rear view of VI in 1950s
My paternal grandfather had sent photos of the VI to my father who was attending the Malayan Teachers' Training College at Kirkby, near Liverpool, Great Britain in 1951-1952.
The envelope that contained photos of the VI in 1950s.
This was the envelope that my paternal grandfather used to send photos of the VI to my father. The hand-writing on the envelope was my grandfather's. His name is written in the left bottom corner of the envelope. The envelope is of thick waxy brown paper and the stamps have come off. I have never seen this envelope and its contents before. I have only opened this envelope this year (2010), approximately a year after my father died in March 2009. My father never spoke of the VI nor this envelope. He was probably using the photos for class projects at Kirkby.
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