Health in Malaysia
Leptospirosis is a water contract disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospirabacterial. It is a disease that affects both humans and animals. The number of leptospirosis cases had steadily increased from 2011 (2,268 cases with 55 death) to 2015 (8,291 cases with 78 death) and 5,284 cases with 52 death in 2016. Leptospirosis can have important health impact and is a burden to the nation if not well controlled. Addressing leptospisoris includes maintain a clean environment and by not swimming or wading in water that might be contaminated with animal urine, or eliminating contact with potentially infected animals.
History of leprosy
In a document written in 833, leprosy was described as "caused by a parasite that eats five organs of the body. The eyebrows and eyelashes come off, and the nose is deformed. The disease brings hoarseness, and necessitates amputations of the fingers and toes. Do not sleep with the patients, as the disease is transmittable to those nearby." This was the first document concerning believed infectious aspect of the disease.
Japan passed leprosy prevention laws in 1907, 1931, and 1953 that were based on segregation of persons with the disease; this approach intensified leprosy stigma. Lepers were seen as being incurable and infectious. Males admitted to leprosaria in Japan were sterilized, and females found to be pregnant were forced to have abortions. These extreme actions were done to prevent children of diseased parents from being born lest they carry the disease. Doctors during this time still mistakenly believed that leprosy was a hereditary disease. The 1953 law was abrogated in 1996. More than a decade later, in 2008 there were 2717 ex-patients in 13 national sanatoria and two private hospitals.