現下의 癩施策(慶北) 及在家患者實態調査의 檢討 = CURRENT POLICY OF LEPROSY CONTROL IN KYUNG-POOK PROVINCE, KOREA AND REINVESTIGATION OF HOME PATIENTS

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Kyung-Pook province is widely known as one of the highly endemic areas in Korea. It has two large leprosaria; the Ae Rak Won, which is controlled by Presbyterian Mission and the Ae Seng Won, which is under the National Government. There are in addition several villages and Sam Yuk Hak Won intended for untainted children of leprous patients.
According to official report from 1934 to 1938 the number of home patients was decreasing year by year but since emancipation in 1945 the number of patients suddenly increased from approximately 5000 to twice that figure. However, in the eyes of Dr. Lew Joon the actual number of patients at least three times the official number somewhere in the neighbours of 45,000 cases. It is appreciated that to arrive at a precise figure is difficult and there is need for a standardized method of estimation.
In investigating the number of home registered patients in Andong Goon the fallacies of the Government method were brought to light. Two estimated what taken into consideration. The first was the offical report, the second was that supplying by home registered patient fully familiar with the situation in above mentioned Goon.
Result showed in the first instance that only 112 patients were on official record, on the other hand it was possible to trace 146 patients through information supplied by the patient already mentioned. It is noteworthy, however, these totals only 39 patients were known both to the Goon as well as to the private source of information. Sampling from these two angles, we find that the conservative estimate supplied by the Government to be quite misleading in indicating trace state of affairs.
Both methods have advantage and disadvantage, but it was believed and later confirmed that a departure from the normally accepted Government estimate was extremely informative.
During this same survey the infectivity of all patients was found to be 45.7 per cent: that is to say this proportion of case were of the open lepromatous type. The remainders were all advanced in the disease being either burned out or arrested tuberculoid or lepromatous cases. Early cases were not seen. Indeterminate skin lesions were entirely absent.
The weakness in the system of detection in the province is that does not appear to be possible to bring to light early cases; only those who are so advanced that they come to be recognized by the neighbours as cases leprosy are officially notified
On these ground it is strongly urged that propaganda on leprosy and how to recognize the disease in its early stages be launched through special lectures, movies and exhibitions. At the same time new chinics should be opened in those rural areas where the endemicity of the disease is known to be high.