The Medical Experimental Event in the 1960s’ Lo-Sheng Leprosarium: Trauma and History of Struggle by Leprosy Suffers

• In Event: Leprosy (癩) in East Asia: Culture, Memory, Writing and Practice in the Era of Global Health

Abstract

In the mid-1960s, the Lo-Shen Leprosarium of Taiwan carried out a medical project in cooperation with U. S. Naval Medical Research Unit No.2 (NAMRU-2). The experiment consisted of medical injection given to patients. Six months after the execution of the said medical experiment, the patients who were given the injection began reporting side effects, including nerve pain and psychological trauma. These conditions intensified and serious medical disputes ensued. In July 1966, the subjects could no longer withstand the pain and began launching a petition in protest against the experiment. The hospital took measures to appease the patients and the dispute was temporarily suspended.

DDS (Diamino-diphenyl sulphone), the drug treatment for leprosy was introduced into Taiwan in the 1950s and by the 1960s, the drug became the standard treatment for leprosy. However, the Lo–Shen’s medical experiment as described above, highlighted the fact that the institution still bore the characteristics of a total institution. The inpatients had been living in a closely monitored environment and yet, the medical experiment mobilized the patients into staging a collective action against the hospital. What is the significance and impact of the patient's struggle? This article focuses on two levels of immunology research and patient history to analyze the causes, the significance, and the impact of the 1966 medical dispute.

Author

• Yenchiou Fan, National Taiwan Normal University