Show LEPERS ARCHIPELAGO STARTLING FACTS REGARDING LEPROSY IN PHILIPPINES No Loss Than 30000 in Islands tho Major Portion of These Being in tho VIsnyaa Group r Washington Dcc 2GAn appended report to Gen MatArthurs review oC the civil affairs of the Philippine Islands for the past fiscal year jlvcs rather startling facts regarding the Introduction I In-troduction und prevalence of leprosy In the Islands According to the estimates of the Franciscan Fathers says the report there are no less than 30000 lepers In the archipelago the major portion of these being In the Vlsayas Leprosy was Introduced In 1633 when the Emperor Em-peror of Japan sent a ship with 150 lepers on broad to the Philippines as a present to be cared for by the Catholic priests Thus the seed was planted and as no practical methods were adopted to eradicate the disease or prevent its spread It has taken llrm root A housetohouse Inspection begun last January found more than a hundred hun-dred lepers concealed In dwellings These wet sent to San Lazaro hospital In Manila but many others escaped Into the surrounding country A commission Is now engaged In the work of selecting a suitable Island or Islands for the purpose of Isolating all the lepers In the archipelago |