Carville and Curupaiti: experiences of confinement and community

Abstract

Although Hansen's disease (leprosy) is still a significant problem in many parts of the world, the effectiveness of multidrug therapy has allowed people affected by this disease to be treated on an outpatient basis. However, throughout much of the twentieth century, people diagnosed with Hansen's disease were isolated from their families in facilities known as 'leprosaria'. This article presents a brief history of isolation policies and the development of community structures at two such facilities, Carville and Curupaiti, in the United States and Brazil, respectively. The modern dilemmas faced by the administration, staff, and residents of these institutions will also be discussed.

Leprosy in the 21st Century

“…Many former patients continue to live in these communities because of permanent disability and stigma that they experienced (or anticipate experiencing) outside these communities. Families sometimes choose to live in these communities as well because of the lack of housing and employment opportunities on the "outside" (84). In regions of the world where the disease is endemic, societal stigma coupled with delays in treatment seeking and/or diagnosis can result in patients moving into these communities, so their numbers in some areas may be growing.…”

Project REENCONTRO: ethical aspects of genetic identification in families separated by the compulsory isolation of leprosy patients in Brazil

“…The isolation of leprosy patients in special hospitals was in evidence from early colonial times, but it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that this practice became a worldwide policy (White 2003). After a timid debate, isolation emerged as the consensual method to avoid spreading of the disease (Bechler 2009;Cunha 2010).…”

Em diferentes escalas: a arquitetura do Hospital-Colônia Rovisco Pais sob o olhar do médico Fernando Bissaya Barreto

“…O Hospital-Colônia Rovisco Pais e as diferentes colônias que lhe serviram de modelo têm sido descritos como lugares de exclusão dos doentes de Hansen neles compulsivamente isolados (Monteiro, 2003;White, 2003;Costa, 2008;Cruz, 2009;Leandro, 2009;Cunha, 2010). Sem pôr em causa a experiência de clausura e segregação por parte dos indivíduos compulsivamente internados no Rovisco Pais, a rutura forçada com a rede de relações sociais em que estavam previamente inseridos e a perda dos seus direitos civis, o meu propósito neste artigo é, sobretudo, mostrar, por meio dos discursos e práticas de Bissaya Barreto, como esse espaço foi arquitetônica, técnica e institucionalmente pensado, em continuidade com o programa político-higiênico mais vasto aplicado por Bissaya Barreto a toda a população da Beira Litoral, como um instrumento de tratamento, controle e educação dos doentes de Hansen, com o primordial objetivo de o tornar um instrumento de profilaxia.…”