Kikaijima (or Kikai-Island), 60.5 square kilometers in area, is a small island among the southern sea archipelago between Kyushu and Taiwan.
As this island is too far from Kyushu (about 780 kilometers), where a few leprosorii are established, almost none of the lepers has been sent to these leprosorii and then leprosy has spread there for a long time,
In July 1937 the author and Hayashi had an opportunity to visit this island. Observation of that visit are as follows:
1) Author and Hayashi examined 18, 236 among 19, 321 inhabitants.
2) 112 lepers were found in this time, while the official census in 1935 had numbered 62.
3) Among them 63 is male, 49 female. But as female inhabitans are more than male in this island, the ratio per ten thousands is 73.64 in the male and 41.2 in the female, namely almost 2:1. This ratio is almost equal to that of the Keiaien.
4) As to the type of the disease, C type is 32.4% and N is 52.3% with 15.3% maculosa.
5) Among 17 of macular form 6 showed typical tuberculoide form.
6) Curve of the age is higher to the left in this survey, namely younger patients were newly found comparing with the official census in 1935.
7) The duration of the disease is in the majority over 11 to 30 years. This fact shows that a long time has elaped in the leprous history of this island.
8) The number of lepers in smaller villages is not parallel to the population, nor to that of tuberculosis, but to that of filariasis.
A majority of patients suffered from tuberculosis in the town as Kobe or Osaka and came back home. Tuberculosis, therefore, has almost no relationship with the sanitary condition of the village, while leprosy and filariasis seems to spread in an unhealthy condition.
9) No case of leprous blindness and alopecia leprosa was found there. This fact confirms the climatic theory of Fumio Hayashi.
10) As leprosy has been prevalent there for a long time, and none of the patients has been sent to the leprosorium, this thorough survey gave many date from the viewpoint of epidemiology, and helps the presumption or investigation of the leprous condition in whole area of Japan.
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