Leprosarium: learning ground to save future generation

Background: Leprosy is a neglected tropical disease that continues to be a public health problem in underdeveloped and developing countries. The fear of the spread of the infection from Persons Affected by Leprosy (PALs) to normal individuals is one of the reasons why they are usually kept in the “Leper Colonies”. Health workers and medical students are not exempted from the fear of the spread of this disease. Many of them are afraid of working among the Persons Affected by Leprosy Aim: To determine the prevalence of leprosy in families of patients residing at the Baptist Health Service in Ogbomoso Material and methods: A descriptive study design was used and 29 Persons Affected by Leprosy (PALs) resident in the leprosarium and consented to the study were interviewed. Results: The age of the respondents ranges from 35 to 85 years and the mean age is 59.97±11.9 years. The prevalence of leprosy in families of index patients was 6.4% while 93.1% had no history of contact with leprous patients. Also, 34.5% had been diagnosed with the disease for about 31-40 years. Less than one-half (48.3%) of them are living with their children in the camp and none of their children came down with the disease. Conclusion: Treated PALs in Baptist Health Service, Ogbomoso, Nigeria did not spread the disease to the children living with them. This should encourage the Medical Schools to make use of Leper Colonies as a teaching ground for medical students.背景：麻风病（Leprosy）是一种被忽视的热带疾病，在欠发达及发展中国家仍是公共卫生难题。由于担忧被麻风病影响的人群（Persons Affected by Leprosy, PALs）将疾病传播给健康个体，这类人群通常被安置于“麻风村（Leper Colonies）”中；医护人员与医学生亦未能幸免此类恐惧，诸多从业者畏惧在麻风病患群体中开展工作。 研究目的：明确居住于奥波波索（Ogbomoso）浸信会卫生服务机构的麻风病患者家庭成员的麻风病患病率。 材料与方法：本研究采用描述性研究设计，对居住于麻风病院且同意参与本研究的29名麻风病患（Persons Affected by Leprosy, PALs）进行访谈。 结果：受访对象的年龄跨度为35~85岁，平均年龄为59.97±11.9岁。以先证病例的家庭为统计范围，其成员的麻风病患病率为6.4%，另有93.1%的研究对象无麻风病患接触史。此外，34.5%的研究对象确诊该病已有31~40年。不足半数（48.3%）的研究对象与子女共同居住于该机构营地，且其子女均未罹患该病。 结论：尼日利亚奥波波索浸信会卫生服务机构中接受治疗的麻风病患，并未将疾病传播给与其共同居住的子女。该研究结果可激励医学院校将麻风村作为医学生的教学实践场地。