A handful of patients remain to tell the story of Hawaii's leper colony Dec 2, 2008
Those who are have Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy. Those who are represent the last few of 8,000 people who, over a century's span, were banished to Kalaupapa because of an illness once called the "separating sickness." Many never again felt the embrace of loved ones living somewhere beyond the volcanic formations that rise like stone sentries just offshore. (International Herald Tribune)
Making the dark continent BRIGHTERCasa Grande church group builds clinic in Nigeria to serve area near leper colony Dec 2, 2008
Leprosy, also called Hansen's disease, is an infectious disease that affects the skin and peripheral nerves and can result in permanent disfigurement, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2002, 96 of the world's 763,917 cases were in the United States. (Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, AZ)
New Leprosy Bacterium: Scientists Use Genetic Fingerprint To Nail 'Killing Organism' Nov 29, 2008
9, 2008) Long believed to be a disease of biblical times, leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, continues to be seen in the United. (Feb. (Science Daily)
Awaiting Damien's canonization Nov 17, 2008
Similarly, Hawai'i's Roman Catholic community is lit up with excitement as canonization looms for Father Damien, the Belgian priest who is revered for dedication to serving those suffering from Hansen's disease on Moloka'i ... " The next year the beatification was held in Belgium with about 200 from Hawai'i in attendance. A halau attended both events, as did some of Kalaupapa's Hansen's disease patients."We had a lot of fun with them," said King. "We made sure they were treated very special ...... (Honolulu Advertiser)
Photo Finish Nov 11, 2008
In 1883, King Kalakaua sent out a request to 50 congregations to help patients suffering from Hansen's disease. The Franciscan sisters of Syracuse, N.Y., were the only ones to respond. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Leprosy still present in U.S. Nov 11, 2008
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Long believed to be a disease of biblical times, leprosy, also known as Hansen's Disease, continues to be seen in the United States, a newly-released report available here on Monday shows. Approximately 150 cases are diagnosed each year with 3,000 people in the U.S. currently being treated for leprosy, according to U.S. National Hansen's Disease Program (NHDP). (Xinhuanet, China)
Kakaako could become home to Mother Marianne Cope memorial Nov 9, 2008
A planned statue of Mother Marianne Cope looking across the ocean toward Moloka'i, where she ministered to the Hansen's disease patients of Kalaupapa, has passed an important step on its way to becoming a memorial at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park ... Mother Marianne certainly had that: The nun from Syracuse, N.Y., who came here as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, was stationed at the Kaka'ako Branch Hospital, a receiving center for Hansen's disease patients, he said. (Honolulu Advertiser)
Forgotten, but not gone: Leprosy still present in the US Nov 8, 2008
Long believed to be a disease of biblical times, leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, continues to be seen in the United States. "Approximately 150 cases are diagnosed each year with 3,000 people in the U.S. currently being treated for leprosy, says James Krahenbuhl, Ph.D., director of the Health Resources Service Administration's National Hansen's Disease Program (NHDP) in Baton Rouge, LA. "We believe there are more cases of leprosy not identified due to the lack of awareness about the... (EurekAlert!)
Gathering to bless Kalaupapa Oct 19, 2008
The inviting of an interfaith contingent is to honor the different faith groups that could be found in the early days of Kalaupapa, said Valerie Monson of Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa, a nonprofit aiming to help Hansen's disease patients' families and friends ... The marker was found by Monson and historian Anwei Law, who heads up IDEA, an advocacy group for people with Hansen's disease, based in Seneca, N.Y. ... "We knew his relatives were there and happened to find the grave," said Law, who is also... (Honolulu Advertiser)
Sainthood poses dilemma for leper colony Sep 22, 2008
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is spread by direct person-to-person contact, although it's not easily transmitted. It can cause skin lesions, mangle fingers and toes, and lead to blindness. (Boston Globe)
Hawaii apologizes to former leprosy patients Aug 14, 2008
The Hawaiian Kingdom, and then later the republic, territory and state of Hawaii, together banished 8,000 people with leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, to Kalaupapa for over a century after 1866 in an attempt to control the illness. Drugs to cure the disease were first administered in the 1940s. (Globe and Mail -- International)
Hawaii Teacher's Cure Clears Way for a New Saint Aug 10, 2008
After contracting the disease, also known as Hansen's disease, he died on April 15, 1889, at 49. His remains were moved to Belgium in 1936. (Fox News)
St. Francis adds boys in shift to coed classes Jul 22, 2008
The school, which opened in 1924 in Liliha to prepare girls for religious life and work with Hansen's disease patients, moved to its Manoa campus in 1931. It hopes to have boys in all grades by the 2012-13 school year. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Damien miracle passes papal muster Jul 4, 2008
The priest eventually contracted the disease, now known as Hansen's disease, and died in 1889 at 49 ... Toguchi, 79, granddaughter of a former Hansen's disease patient, told the Star-Bulletin earlier this year that the cancer disappeared over the course of four months. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Pope Approves Miracle For Hawaiian Priest Jul 4, 2008
The priest eventually contracted the disease, also known as Hansen's disease, and died in 1889 at 49. Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said canonization is important, "not simply as a recognition of the saintly heroism of Father Damien, but so that, following his example, we may all be renewed in holiness and in our dedication to those brothers and sisters who are most in need.". (CBS News -- World)
Roman Catholic Priest Moves Closer to Sainthood Jul 3, 2008
He went to a remote peninsula on Molokai nine years later, ministering to patients until he contracted Hansen's disease himself and died in 1889 at the age of 49. . (Newsmax)
Molokai's Top 5 Sights May 2, 2008
From 1866 to 1969, this is where generations of Hawaiians and other residents afflicted with Hansen's disease (then called leprosy) were forced into isolation and desperation. Father Damien, a Belgian priest, helped care for the sick and dying here for 16 years, creating schools and gardens and building homes and ) until he too died from the now-treatable disease in 1889; the island celebrates his arrival in 1873 with "Blessed Damien Day" on May 10. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Travel)
Shining Stars Apr 11, 2008
St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii has presented its Mother Marianne Awards to the following individuals who represent the spirit of Mother Marianne Cope, who brought the Sisters of St. Francis to Hawaii in 1883 to care for patients with Hansen's disease. Myron Tong, administrator of St. Francis Healthcare Foundation of Hawaii, vice president of the former St. Francis Medical Center in his 33 years of service. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Memory on Molokai Mar 15, 2008
The undeserved suffering associated with leprosy - or Hansen's disease, as those affected prefer to call it - is profound. This bacterial disease has been curable since the 1940s, but those who have it are still feared and shunned. (International Herald Tribune -- Ed/Op)
Fairfield students provide aid in Ecuador Mar 7, 2008
During the trip, the group lived in a typical neighborhood, engaged in service activities including volunteering at an afterschool program, and in a local hospital for people with Hansen's disease ... "It was amazing, powerful and saddening at the same time." Rivers said one of her most memorable experiences was working at the Padre Damien House hospital, a facility dedicated to caring for people with Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy ... "A lot of people with Hansen's disease were not... (Fairfield Minuteman, CT)
* 'I can't sign pledge,' Ma tells Aborigines Feb 28, 2008
Losheng is a sanatorium complex in Taipei County that was completed in 1930 during the Japanese colonial period and was used to keep patients with Hansen's disease in isolation. A plan to demolish most of the complex to make way for a mass rapid transport maintenance depot has met with opposition, as preservationists believe it is of important historical value. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Kalaupapa tribute planned Feb 14, 2008
ASSOCIATED PRESS / OFFICE OF U.S. REP. MAZIE HIRONO A Kingdom of Hawaii registry, above, lists Hansen's disease patients forcibly exiled to the remote peninsula of Kalaupapa on Molokai ... The 8,000 Hansen's disease patients who were exiled to Kalaupapa would be memorialized in a monument authorized yesterday by the U.S. House. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Funding will improve Kalaupapa settlement Feb 14, 2008
More than half a million dollars in state money has been released to improve hospital facilities for Hansen's disease patients at the historic Kalaupapa settlement in northern Molokai ... Kalaupapa, a peninsula surrounded by 2,000-foot cliffs, was a place of forced isolation for Hansen's disease patients from 1866 to 1969. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Obituary: Sheriff of Kalaupapa demystified disease Feb 6, 2008
Harada was taken from his Kauai family as a teenager and was sent to Kalaupapa, where people afflicted with Hansen's disease were quarantined. And there he thrived, holding a variety of jobs including sheriff, from which he retired. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Leprosy Still Taking a Toll Worldwide Jan 17, 2008
Leprosy is a biblical name for Hansen's disease, a bacterial disease related to tuberculosis ... Now, the National Hansen's Disease Program has a museum in Baton Rouge to showcase leprosy's history. (The Daily Universe, UT)
* Losheng activists protest in silence Dec 20, 2007
Some 30 advocates for the rights of Hansen's Disease sufferers staged a silent sit-in in front of the legislature yesterday, urging lawmakers to pass the Hansen's Disease compensation bill today -- the final day the enactment can be discussed before the legislature goes into recess tomorrow. Today "is the last chance for the bill to be put to a vote in the legislature," Taiwanese Association for Human Rights secretary-general Lin Shu-ya (LQ) told a press conference. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
* Protesters blast plans for vacation Dec 15, 2007
The groups listed a number of bills that are still stuck in the long legislative queue, including the law on judges, the bill for greenhouse gas emission reduction, the energy tax bill, the Hansen's disease (leprosy) patient compensation bill, and many social welfare bills ... "The Hansen's disease bill was introduced to the legislature two years ago" Lee Tien-pei (K), president of the Lepers' Self-Help Organization ... "Over the past two years, 35 people with Hansen's disease have passed... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Plaquemine High eyed for new vo-tech facility Dec 14, 2007
She said Cancienne has bet with officials of the Job Corps training center, located at the old Gillis Long Hansen's Disease Center site about partnering with the school system to offer vocational-technical education to Eastside students. "We will have a good relationship with Job Corps," the superintendent said. (Plaquemine Post South, LA)
$157 million for federal projects in Hawaii at risk Nov 16, 2007
5 million for the Bishop Museum, $2 million for Hansen's disease treatment and $2. 4 million for the remote rural Hawai'i job training project through the Maui Community College. (Honolulu Advertiser)
* KMT slams MP for mistreating young protesters Nov 13, 2007
The sanatorium for sufferers of Hansen's Disease was built under Japanese colonial rule in 1930 in Sinjhuang (s), Taipei County. The Taipei City and Taipei County governments are demolishing the facility to make way for the Sinjhuang mass rapid transit Line. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
* Taiwan Quick Take Nov 12, 2007
The sanatorium for sufferers of Hansen's Disease, also known as leprosy, was built under Japanese colonial rule in 1930 in Sinjhuang (s), Taipei County. The Taipei City and Taipei County governments are demolishing the facility to make way for the Xinzhuang MRT Line. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Isles to get $691M in funding Nov 4, 2007
State Department of Health, $2 million for continuing medical care and support of people with Hansen's disease in Kalaupapa and Honolulu. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Religion news in brief Nov 2, 2007
More than 8,000 people were banished to the remote Kalaupapa peninsula on Molokai after leprosy, or Hansen's disease, became epidemic in Hawaii in the 1850s. Damien came to Hawaii from Belgium in 1864, and went to Kalaupapa nine years later, ministering to patients until he contracted Hansen's disease himself and died in 1889 at the age of 49. (Orangeburg Times and Democrat, SC)
Hawaii's 'leper priest' back on track to sainthood Oct 29, 2007
One hurdle has been cleared in the road to sainthood for Blessed Father Damien de Veuster, the "leper priest of Moloka'i" who eventually died from Hansen's disease. The cause for sainthood has been stalled since 2005, when a local tribunal reconvened to clear up whether a miracle could be attributed solely to prayers to Damien. (Honolulu Advertiser)
Father Damien moving closer to sainthood Oct 27, 2007
Father Damien DeVeuster, the Belgian priest who served Hansen's disease patients at Kalaupapa, Molokai, and later died of the disease, has moved closer to sainthood. A Vatican commission of five doctors scrutinizing a reported medical cure attributed to Damien has found that the woman's healing was dramatic and defied medical explanation, said Patrick Downes, Catholic Diocese of Honolulu spokesman. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Hurdle cleared in path to Father Damien's sainthood Oct 26, 2007
The cause for sainthood had been stalled in 2005, when a local tribunal reconvened to clear up questions over whether a miracle truly belonged solely to prayers to Damien, who eventually had died of Hansen's disease. A communique from Rome issued last week by the order to which Father Damien belonged, said a miracle attributed to Damien passed a very important authority: a medical committee that decides if such events are indeed miraculous. (Honolulu Advertiser)
Conscientious objectors will get option of alternative duty Sep 18, 2007
The government is now reviewing nine public special care hospitals in remote areas to place the men, such as the Sorokdo National Hospital, a facility located in South Jeolla Province that treats Hansen's disease, along with about 200 nursing homes for the elderly. However, specifics of the draft plan will be reviewed and finalized after public hearings on the issue, officials said. (Korea Herald, Korea)
* Lo Sheng protesters hauled away Sep 13, 2007
Lo Sheng Sanatorium, located in Sinjhuang (s), Taipei County, was used to isolate thousands of people with Hansen's disease. A plan to tear down buildings at the sanatorium in order to build a Mass Rapid Transportation (MRT) maintenance depot has seen protests by Lo Sheng residents and preservationists over the past three years. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
* Bridge sparks fears on island leper colony Sep 12, 2007
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a bacterial disease which can be cured with a sustained course of antibiotics, but can cause deformations if untreated. For the first five decades after its foundation in 1916, the island was a prison camp for victims forcibly ferried to it from all over Korea. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Project memorializes Kalaupapa patients Sep 5, 2007
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / Researchers working at the State Archives are collecting names of about 8,000 people who contracted Hansen's disease between 1866 and 1969 and were sent to Kalaupapa, Molokai ... State archives list nearly 8,000 names of people who contracted Hansen's disease between 1866 and 1969 and were banished for life to the remote Molokai peninsula ... Think how many family members that involved," said Law, who is leading the research project. She is a founder and coordinator for an... (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Newswatch, Police/Fire Jul 29, 2007
He goes to Molokai weekly to care for patients with Hansen's disease. He shares his medical expertise with TV viewers as a volunteer for "Ask the Doctor" on KHON-2. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
* Lo Sheng fossils, artifacts must be saved: historian Jul 21, 2007
The Taipei County sanatorium is a sprawling complex built during the Japanese colonial era to isolate people suffering from Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy. Plans to tear down most of the sanatorium's buildings to make room for an MRT maintenance depot have met with strong opposition. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Kalaupapa resident William Malo was rights advocate Jul 18, 2007
A former sheriff of Kalaupapa and an international advocate for the human rights of Hansen's disease patients has died ... Malo lived on Oahu with his grandparents and was in the 11th grade at McKinley High School when his mother discovered he had Hansen's disease ... He was sent to the Hansen's disease settlement in Kalaupapa in 1940 and was later joined by his sister and three younger brothers, who also suffered from the illness. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
200 years of beauty: Parish's proud history shows in its architecture Jul 6, 2007
The Italianate classical revival architecture of the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center at Carville became the Carville Historic District in 1992. Today, the historic site has a museum on the history of the Hansen's Disease patients who lived there even as the staff helped develop the medical advances that allowed sufferers to be treated as out-patients, rather than isolated away from their families and the population at large. (Plaquemine Post South, LA)
Law eases visitor access to hunting Jun 7, 2007
Licenses are free for residents 65 or older or people with Hansen's disease who are residents of Kalaupapa, according to state law. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
* Activists decry decision on Losheng Jun 1, 2007
Located in Taipei County, the sanatorium is a sprawling complex built during the Japanese colonial era as an isolation unit for people suffering from Hansen's disease. A plan to tear down most of the buildings to make room for a mass rapid transit (MRT) maintenance depot has met with strong opposition. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Infectious Disease Research Institute and Chembio to Develop Tests for Leishmaniasis and Leprosy May 31, 2007
ABOUT LEPROSY Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by the intra-cellular pathogen Mycobacterium leprae -- a bacterium that is related to the organism that causes tuberculosis. The bacillus primarily grows within lesions in the cooler body areas such as the skin, limbs, eyes, and nasal cavity. (PR Newswire)
* Thousands back saving Losheng Sanatorium Apr 16, 2007
Losheng is a sanatorium in Taipei County completed in 1930 under Japanese colonial rule where thousands of people with Hansen's disease, or leprosy, have been secluded for life. Plans to tear down most of the buildings to make room for a Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) maintenance depot have sparked heated debate. (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
* Theater onthe move Apr 13, 2007
Taipei Times - archives. Enter your search terms. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Secure borders would deter spread of diseases Apr 8, 2007
There have only been 40 cases in the last 40 years in America of Hansen's disease, better known as leprosy. America has over 700 cases now. (Lodi News Sentinel, CA)
* Legal effort fails to halt closure of Lo Sheng Sanatorium Apr 5, 2007
The legislative effort to prevent mandatory eviction of Lo Sheng Sanatorium residents failed as cross-party negotiations on the Hansen's Disease Compensation Act (~fv) broke down yesterday. Located in Taipei County, Lo Sheng sanatorium is where thousands of people with Hansen's disease have lived since the facility's establishment, despite the low contagiousness of the disease. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
* Lo Sheng controversy attracts the interestof international group Apr 4, 2007
The controversy over the preservation of Lo Sheng (Happy Life) Sanatorium has moved into the international limelight as a global advocacy group for people with Hansen's disease said it would report the case to the UN. ... Parlapiano made the remarks at a press conference hosted by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Joanna Lei (p) and a local group supporting the preservation of the 70-year-old sanatorium -- home to people with Hansen's disease ... The group represents more than 20,000 Hansen's... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
* Why Lo Sheng must be preserved Apr 1, 2007
The International Association for Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement, a UN-related organization dedicated to promoting the rights of Hansen's disease patients, also believes that the sanatorium is part of a global heritage and has asked the Taiwanese government to protect it. In preserving these buildings, Taiwan would allow the residents to continue to live there instead of uprooting long-standing community networks in the name of modernization. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
* Thousands protest saving sanatorium Apr 1, 2007
Sinjhuang is home to Lo Sheng Sanatorium, where thousands of people with Hansen's disease were once quarantined for life. A plan to tear down most of the buildings on the 17-hectare site to make room for a Mass Rapid Transportation (MRT) depot has met with strong opposition. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Miracles keep up with prayers for Rising Star Apr 1, 2007
Rising Star's works are primarily aimed at families affected by leprosy, or Hansen's Disease. Although there is a cure for the disease, leprosy patients and their children and grandchildren still frequently live in isolated colonies and are rejected by most of society. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
* Su apologizes for leprosarium debacle Mar 24, 2007
The Hansen's Disease compensation act (~fv), a proposed bill which would provide a legal basis for compensation to former quarantined leprosy sufferers and preservation of the leprosarium, is currently being negotiated by the legislature. "During party negotiations yesterday [Thursday], the clauses concerning compensation, on-site care and preservation [of Lo Sheng Sanatorium] were passed," Cheng said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
US health agency says hepatitis cases down sharply Mar 18, 2007
Handa, a Chinese charity that helps sufferers of leprosy, or Hansen's disease, believes one way to reduce stigma is to stop using words like "leper", a term loaded with age-old misconceptions. A team of four people -- have custom-made over 9,000 pairs of shoes and 359 prosthetic limbs since 2000 for people disabled by the disease and they travel around China's southern Guangdong province making prosthetic limbs and customised shoes for people left disabled by the disease. (Reuters AlertNet)
* Indie-music scene mobilizes with concert to protest land grab Mar 16, 2007
Following a policy originally instituted by the Japanese, people with leprosy, or Hansen's disease, were segregated by law until the 1980s, and Losheng became a self-sufficient community. In 1994, Taipei County sold the land on which the sanatorium stood to the TRTC for the construction of part of the Sinjhuang MRT line. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
The island of sorrow for leprosy victims Feb 26, 2007
Leprosy is also called Hansen's disease, after Gerhard Hansen, the Norwegian doctor who in 1873 first identified the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae as the cause of the disease ... "The WHO hasn't viewed leprosy as a public health problem in South Korea. But former lepers are not still accepted as ordinary people here due to deformities the disease left on their bodies, though they completely recovered from it," said Chae Kyu-tae, chief of the Institute of Hansen's Disease, affiliated with... (Korea Herald, Korea)
Hospice movement leader aided the terminally ill Jan 30, 2007
She was assigned to Kalaupapa for seven years as nursing supervisor, overseeing the health program for Hansen's disease patients. After several years of work at Mercy Hospital in Auburn, N.Y., she returned to Hawaii in 1978 to start the first hospice program. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
* Couple donates home, NT$60m to charity Jan 8, 2007
In 1944, 25-year-old Ruth Brown, a trained nurse, became a missionary and left her home in Texas for China to work with people suffering from Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy ... Hansen's disease was so feared in Taiwan at the time that medical professionals who worked with patients suffering from the disease were often ostracized ... Huang Te-cheng (w), executive director of the Tainan YMCA Social Welfare Foundation, said that families with members suffering from Hansen's disease... (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
