Beyond quarantine: a history of leprosy in Puerto Rico, 1898-1930s

Levison, Julie H.

doi:10.1590/s0104-59702003000400011

Cited by 20 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The Carville model was adopted by other countries in Latin America where leprosy was endemic (Levinson, 2003; White, 2003; Leandro, 2013). Isolation as a health policy was implemented also in some countries in Europe (Cruz, 2009) and Asia (Robertson, 2009), such that families with a healthy member were segregated from sick relatives.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics and human rights: Two histories: restoring genetic identity after forced disappearance and identity suppression in Argentina and after compulsory isolation for leprosy in Brazil

Penchaszadeh

Schüler‐Faccini

2014

Genet. Mol. Biol.

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Over the past three decades, there has been an accelerated development of genetic technology, leading to its use in human genetic identification for many purposes. Additionally, it has been made explicit that identity is a fundamental human right. A number of historical circumstances have connected these developments. Personal identity is increasingly associated with the preservation and defense of human rights and is a tool to repair the violation of these rights, particularly the right to identity. In this article, we report the use of genetics to support the right to identity in two historical circumstances. First, we report the search, localization, DNA testing and genetic identification of 110 individuals who were appropriated as babies by the Argentine military dictatorship of 1976–1983 in the context of savage repression and egregious violations of human rights, including forced disappearance and suppression of identity. Second, we report on the repair of right-to-identity violations of hundreds of individuals that occurred during the process of compulsory isolation of patients with leprosy in Brazil through the Program “Reencontro”, which has led to the genetic identification of 158 pairs of individuals who previously did not have proof that they were siblings. The high value placed on genetic identification by victims of identity suppression did not counter the prevailing view that genetic factors were not more important than other factors (social, emotional, educational, cultural, spiritual) in determining the complex phenomenon of personal identity. The use of genetic identification as a tool to redress and repair human rights violations is a novel application of human genetics for the benefit of mankind.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics and human rights: Two histories: restoring genetic identity after forced disappearance and identity suppression in Argentina and after compulsory isolation for leprosy in Brazil

Penchaszadeh

Schüler‐Faccini

2014

Genet. Mol. Biol.

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“…16 AGPR, Sanidad, Legajo 125½, pieza I, #115e. On later facilities for people suffering from Hansen's Disease in Puerto Rico see Levison (2003 were the cause of malaria and other diseases. 18 Yet many people seemed to have little awareness of how government-approved uses of the mangroves contributed to environmental degradation and disease, as in 1894, when the Junta proposed throwing the city's garbage in the mangroves at the end of San Andres Street in Puerta de Tierra.…”

Section: Health and The Environment Under Spanish And Us Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment, Urbanization, and Public Health: The Bubonic Plague Epidemic of 1912 in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Zulawski

2022

Lat. American Res. Rev.

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Rico, reluctantly admitted there were cases of bubonic plague in the city and that the disease was taking on epidemic proportions. Most of the cases, and the first ones diagnosed, were in a working-class neighborhood in San Juan known as Puerta de Tierra. The neighborhood had long been known for its unsanitary, overcrowded housing and high rates of infectious diseases, which health officers frequently decried. Yet, through the years, officials had little compunction about using Puerta de Tierra, and the waters that surrounded it, as places to dump garbage, house people with infectious diseases, allow unsanitary docks and stables, quarantine sick animals, and dispose of animal carcasses. Bubonic plague apparently spread from the docks in Puerta de Tierra and was believed to be imported. US health authorities believed the disease had spread from the Canary Islands, but Port of Spain, Trinidad, and La Guaira, Venezuela, where cases had been reported, were also thought to be the origin. 1 The epidemic

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Use of DNA Identification in Human Rights Work to Reunite Families in L atin A merica

Penchaszadeh

2016

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) identification serves many purposes, including the preservation and defence of human rights. In Argentina, a military dictatorship disappeared 30 000 dissidents, including 500 babies born in captivity and, after their mothers' assassination, were appropriated by families associated with the repression. After return to democracy, search, localisation, DNA identification and family reunification were state policies and so far 120 individuals had their identity restituted and families reunited. When after a gruesome civil war in El Salvador caused 75 000 deaths and hundreds of missing children, a DNA database of families with disappeared children was developed and DNA testing of hundreds of people with unknown identity lead to identification and reunification of 265 youngsters with their families. In Brazil, DNA identification of hundreds of individuals who were stranded from their relatives during compulsory isolation of patients with leprosy in Brazil, identified 158 pairs of individuals who did not have know they were siblings. In conclusion, the use of DNA identification as a tool to redress and repair human rights violations is a novel and valuable application of human genetics. Key Concepts DNA technology by itself is not good or bad; its ethics depends on the objectives for which it is used and the voluntary consent on those to whom it is applied. Forced disappearance and abduction of children with suppression of their identity are crimes against humanity. International law of human rights obligates states to solve crimes against humanity, find and prosecute perpetrators and provide reparations to victims. While in general genetic tests should be voluntary, according to international law of human rights, they could be imposed to a nonconsenting individual if needed to solve a crime against humanity. The right to know the truth about one's own identity should guide DNA identification. The use of DNA identification for the defence of human rights should be protected by the state.

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Beyond quarantine: a history of leprosy in Puerto Rico, 1898-1930s

Cited by 20 publications

References 2 publications

Genetics and human rights: Two histories: restoring genetic identity after forced disappearance and identity suppression in Argentina and after compulsory isolation for leprosy in Brazil

Genetics and human rights: Two histories: restoring genetic identity after forced disappearance and identity suppression in Argentina and after compulsory isolation for leprosy in Brazil

Environment, Urbanization, and Public Health: The Bubonic Plague Epidemic of 1912 in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Use of DNA Identification in Human Rights Work to Reunite Families in L atin A merica

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