BEGIN:VCALENDAR
PRODID:-//University of Otago//Events Calendar//EN
VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:University of Otago Calendar
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/events/history-of-medicine-talk-the-history-of-leprosy-in-new-zealand
URL:https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/events/history-of-medicine-talk-the-history-of-leprosy-in-new-zealand
DTSTART;TZID=Pacific/Auckland:20260728T171500
DTEND;TZID=Pacific/Auckland:20260728T181500
SUMMARY:History of medicine talk: The history of leprosy in New Zealand
DESCRIPTION:The history of leprosy in New Zealand: "He is unclean, he shall dwell alone"Presenter: Emeritus Professor Jean-Claude Theis, ONZM Department of Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine – Dunedin, University of Otago Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is one of the oldest infectious diseases, with its origin going back thousands of years in human history. During that time, it has been associated with severe social stigma, physical disfigurement, and forced isolation. Leprosy is mentioned multiple times in the Bible and for a long time was viewed as a spiritual curse or divine punishment rather than a medical condition. In 1873 the bacterial cause of leprosy was discovered by a Norwegian physician, Gerhard Henrik Hansen, when he identified Mycobacterium leprae in the tissues of infected patients. The first effective treatments were identified in the 1940s in the form of sulfone drugs such as Dapsone. As a result of resistance to Dapsone, multidrug therapy, combining 3 antibiotics, was introduced in the 1980’s. Although leprosy is now fully curable, the disease has not been eradicated and 180–200,000 cases are reported each year, mainly from tropical and subtropical countries like India, Brazil and Indonesia. The New Zealand government established a leper colony on Quail Island (Lyttleton Harbour) in 1906 after a number of cases were identified amongst the Māori and Chinese population. The colony had no more than 14 patients at any time and they endured grim living conditions, lack of nursing care and neglect by the Health Department. The colony was closed in 1925 and all remaining patients transferred to a much larger leprosarium on the Island of Makogai in Fiji. Currently there are 3–4 cases of leprosy reported each year in New Zealand, all imported via immigrants and travelers from countries where leprosy is endemic. Zoom detailsJoin via Zoom Meeting ID: 991 3636 0734Password: 902671 
LOCATION:Barnett Lecture Theatre, First Floor Dunedin Hospital, and via Zoom
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR