01666nas a2200253   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002200055653001100077653001200088653002600100653002600126653002600152653001100178653002300189653001200212100001600224700001900240245008400259300001200343490000700355520103600362022001401398       2007                            d  c2007 Oct10aDisease Outbreaks10aEurope10aGermany10aHistory, 18th Century10aHistory, 19th Century10aHistory, 20th Century10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy1 aHundeiker M1 aBrömmelhaus H00a[Leprosy in Germany 100 years and the early development of anti-leprosy drugs].  a899-9020 v583 a<p>Leprosy was nearly eliminated in central Europe by the beginning of 18th century. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, leprosy was imported by Lithuanian rural workers immigrating from the Russian empire into East Prussia. At that time, the ways of infection, the bacteria, and essential diagnostic methods were already known, but there was no effective treatment. A leprosarium was founded in 1899 in Memel. Legislation in 1900 and 1904 regulated the fight against the disease. The patients had to be isolated and not allowed to work with others, in contrast to the situation with cutaneous tuberculosis. Patients with lupus vulgaris, which was not infectious, even had suitable jobs in hospitals. In 1907, Antileprol (Bayer) became available, the first industrial preparation developed from chaulmoogra oils, which had been long used in Indian medicine. The situation of patients, however, remained nearly unchanged, up to the middle of the 20th century, when the first effective mycobacteriostatic agents were introduced.</p>  a0017-8470