Supervisors info:
Μωραΐτης Κωνσταντίνος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Στρατάκος Γρηγόριος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Μιχαλέας Σπυρίδων Επιστημονικός συνεργάτης, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
This study presents a comprehensive literature review of the historical, social, and medical evolution of leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease) from antiquity to the 20th century in Europe, focusing on Greece. It explores the treatment of those affected by the disease, both medically and socially, while also highlighting the significant yet controversial role of leprosariums as institutions of isolation designed to protect the healthy population. Furthermore, the study examines the connection between the symptoms of the disease and the marginalization and social stigma experienced by patients.
In the first chapter, an attempt is made to understand the disease from a medical perspective, accompanied by a presentation of its symptoms. This chapter also outlines the groundbreaking contribution of Norwegian physician Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen (1841–1912), who in 1873 confirmed the infectious nature of leprosy. Following this, a brief historical overview of the disease’s appearance and progression from prehistoric times to the modern era is provided.
The second chapter describes the theological and social perceptions of leprosy during its emergence and course, primarily during the medieval period. These views arose from the fear provoked by the disease’s repulsive symptoms. The chapter also examines the first attempts by society to contain the spread of leprosy by establishing isolated areas for the care and containment of the afflicted, such as leper colonies and lazarettos.
The third chapter discusses the necessity of founding specific isolation areas for the diseased population, where efforts to treat the illness were also made, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries. It specifically examines the leprosariums of Spinalonga, Samos, and Chios, as well as European leprosariums like those in Metković, Memel, Saint-Thomas d’Aizier, and Ospedale di San Lazzaro. An exceptional case for Greece is also the establishment of the Antileprosy Station of Athens at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Agia Varvara. In this chapter, the remarkable contribution of Epameinondas Remoundakis in advocating for the rights of those confined in the Spinalonga leprosarium is also praised.
The fourth chapter highlights the efforts of the medical community to find methods for controlling and eradicating the disease through the discovery and application of various pharmaceutical treatments, particularly with the use of antibiotics during the 20th century.
Finally, the study concludes by drawing insights on the impact of leprosy in shaping public health protection practices, based on the data presented and analysed in the chapters mentioned above of this dissertation.
Keywords:
Isolation, Lazaretto, Leprosarium, Hansen, Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT), Epameinondas Remoundakis
