Jesus's Miraculous Healings in Mt 8:1-17 Significance and Role.

Jesus's messianic identity is the central topic of the Gospel of Matthew, where the author presents the Messiah of Words and the Messiah of Actions in an original way. Namely, after chapters 5-7, in which Matthew writes about the Messiah of Words who restores the original meaning of the Law in the Sermon on the Mount, in chapters 8-9, the Evangelist presents not only Jesus's messianic identity, but also the model of his deep and fundamental messianism, which is evident in the power of miraculous healing, as well as the powerlessness of the servant, the authority of the call to follow in his footsteps, and the charity toward the poor. Therefore, we are addressing Jesus's miraculous healings, which demonstrate not only Jesus's messianic identity, but also the specific character of his "to be the Messiah", i.e. the special significance and role of his actions that lead to salvation. In Mt 8:1-17, the Evangelist presents three miraculous healings by Jesus: The healing of the leper, the healing of the Roman centurion's son, and the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, which represent three vulnerable and marginalised groups: lepers, heathens, and women. Matthew ends the account of those three miraculous healings with a summary about Jesus's exorcisms and healings of many sick people, according to the words of the prophet Isaiah: "He himself took our weaknesses and carried our diseases". In that specific quote, Matthew offers the key for the interpretation of Jesus's miraculous healings to the readers. Unlike the suffering servant from the book of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus does not accept the weaknesses of man onto himself; he instead removes them through his power as the saviour. By using the quote from the book of the prophet Isaiah 53:4 freely, Matthew does not attribute it to the suffering of Jesus, but instead to his miraculous healings. By replacing the noun hamartias "sins", with the noun hasteneias - "weaknesses", and the verb ferô "to bear", with the verb lambanô "to take away", Matthew recognises the Messiah in Jesus, who removes the weaknesses and diseases of men in his power as the saviour; a Messiah who is in solidarity with the weaknesses of men; a Messiah who heals and saves with his solidarity, by giving the weakest and the marginalised back the dignity of the sons of God. Therefore, Matthew recognises the messianic actions in Jesus's miraculous healings, which is realised in the suffering of Christ, which is the obedience to the intent of the God Saviour and solidarity with the rejected: lepers, heathens, and women.

Current Perceptions and Practices (KAP) about Leprosy among Leprosy Patients: A Comparative Study between High Prevalent & Low Prevalent Districts of West Bengal.

A cross sectional observational study was conducted to assess knowledge, attitude and practices about leprosy among leprosy patients in six districts of West Bengal. Total patients selected for the study were 300; of them 185 patients were from three high prevalent districts and 115 from three low prevalent districts of West Bengal. 56.33% patients were male and 43.67% were female. Most of the patients (85.67%) belonged to Hindu community and 60% from socially backward group. 64.33% patients lived below poverty line. Thirty five percentage of patients had correct knowledge that leprosy is caused by a bacteria. Patients from high prevalent districts (41.62%) have better knowledge than those from low prevalent areas (26.09%). Difference was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.006). Correct knowledge about spread of leprosy through cough & sneezing, of the patients from high prevalent districts (30.81%) was more than those from low prevalent districts (14.78%) (p = 0.001). 74.05% patients from high prevalent districts could tell one or other forms of clinical presentation of a leprosy patients, while 56.52% from low prevalent areas could mention it correctly (p = 0.01). About infectiousness, duration of treatment, complications, patients from high prevalent districts showed better knowledge that those from low prevalent districts. Similarly, Attitude of the patients towards leprosy was found to be more adverse in low prevalent areas. 90% patients have idea that leprosy was curable, but only 51.67% patients heard about MDT. Place of residence (high prevalent districts) & level of education (secondary & above) attributed to better knowledge score of the patients, whereas Place of residence (high prevalent districts) & age (younger age group) attributed to better attitude score of the patients.

[The religious imaginary of Hansen's disease patients: a comparative study of former inmates of the asylums of São Paulo and current Hansen's disease patients]. / O imaginário religioso de pacientes de hanseníase: um estudo comparativo entre ex-internos dos asilos de São Paulo e atuais portadores de hanseníase.

The article analyzes the religiosity of Hansen's disease patients who lived during two distinct treatment periods of the sick: that of internment in asylums and the current practice. Ten semi-structured interviews focused on health, religion and Hansen's disease, broaching the ways the two groups faced religion. In the former inmate group, the presence of institutionalized religion was noted, which served the purposes of vigilance and isolationist therapeutics. Present day Hansen's disease patients still feel the stigmatic weight of'leprosy" in certain situations. Five questionnaires were also given to DHDS health professionals, who presented their considerations concerning the patient's religion and the treatment.

O imaginário religioso de pacientes de hanseníase: um estudo comparativo entre ex-internos dos asilos de São Paulo e atuais portadores de hanseníase / The religious imaginary of Hansen's disease patients: a comparative study of former inmates of the asylums of São Paulo and current Hansen's disease patients

Analisa a religiosidade de pacientes portadores de hanseníase que viveram dois períodos distintos da história do tratamento dos doentes: o do internamento em asilos e o da prática atual. Dez entrevistas semiestruturadas focalizaram saúde, religião e hanseníase, abordando os meios de enfrentamento religioso nos dois grupos. No grupo de ex-internos, constatou-se a presença da religião institucionalizada, que atendia aos propósitos de vigilância e da terapêutica isolacionista. Os atuais portadores de hanseníase ainda sentem o peso do estigma da 'lepra' em determinadas situações. Foram aplicados também cinco questionários a profissionais de saúde do DHDS, que apresentam suas considerações sobre a religião do paciente e o tratamento.

The article analyzes the religiosity of Hansen's disease patients who lived during two distinct treatment periods of the sick: that of internment in asylums and the current practice. Ten semi-structured interviews focused on health, religion and Hansen's disease, broaching the ways the two groups faced religion. In the former inmate group, the presence of institutionalized religion was noted, which served the purposes of vigilance and isolationist therapeutics. Present day Hansen's disease patients still feel the stigmatic weight of 'leprosy" in certain situations. Five questionnaires were also given to DHDS health professionals, who presented their considerations concerning the patient's religion and the treatment.

O imaginário religioso de pacientes de hanseníase: um estudo comparativo entre ex-internos dos asilos de São Paulo e atuais portadores de hanseníase / The religious imaginary of Hansen's disease patients: a comparative study of former inmates of the asylums of São Paulo and current Hansen's disease patients

Analisa a religiosidade de pacientes portadores de hanseníase que viveram dois períodos distintos da história do tratamento dos doentes: o do internamento em asilos e o da prática atual. Dez entrevistas semiestruturadas focalizaram saúde, religião e hanseníase, abordando os meios de enfrentamento religioso nos dois grupos. No grupo de ex-internos, constatou-se a presença da religião institucionalizada, que atendia aos propósitos de vigilância e da terapêutica isolacionista. Os atuais portadores de hanseníase ainda sentem o peso do estigma da 'lepra' em determinadas situações. Foram aplicados também cinco questionários a profissionais de saúde do DHDS, que apresentam suas considerações sobre a religião do paciente e o tratamento.(AU)

Reasons for not reporting deaths: a qualitative study in rural Vietnam.

This qualitative study explores socio-cultural and health systems factors that may impact on death reporting by lay people to registry systems at the commune level. Information on local perceptions of death and factors influencing death reporting were gathered through nine focus group discussions with people of different religions and ethnic affiliations in a rural district of northern Vietnam. Participants classified deaths as "elderly deaths," "young deaths," and "child deaths." Child deaths, including newborn deaths, used to be considered punishment for sins committed by ancestors, but this is no longer the case. Concepts of the human soul and afterlife differ between the Catholic and Buddhist groups, influencing funeral rituals and reporting, especially of infant deaths. Participants regarded elderly deaths as "natural" and "deserved," while young deaths were seen as either "good deaths" or "bad deaths." "Bad deaths" were defined as deaths of "dishonourable" persons who had led a "bad life" involving activities such as gambling, drinking or stealing. The causes of "bad deaths" and deaths due to stigmatized diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and leprosy) were often concealed by the family. The study suggests that the risk of under-reporting deaths seems to be largest for deaths of infants and "bad deaths." Little awareness of regulations and lack of incentives for reporting or lack of sanctions for not reporting deaths also result in under-reporting of deaths. Therefore, education programs and enforcement of legal regulations on death notification should be emphasized. The risk of misreporting the real causes of "bad deaths" and deaths due to stigmatized diseases should be considered in verbal autopsy interviews. Using different sources of information (triangulation) is useful in order to minimize both under-registration and misreporting causes of death.

[Two states in the history of the concept of contagion: from Hippocrates to Galen]. / Deux étapes dans l'histoire de la notion de contagion: d'Hippocrate à Galien.

The Hippocratic doctor does not believe any more in magico-religious "miasmata" that pollute whole populations; he accuses the environmental air, thus freeing his fellow-men from the fear of gods' wrath but impeding the rise of the concept of contagion and disconnecting his own experience from the vet's. Galen however observing a few cases of lepra in Minor Asia intuits human contagion.

Study of leprosy among slum dwellers in Pune. Part-I. Prevalence.

While conducting a point prevalence total population survey in Ghorpuri slum in Pune, the overall prevalence or leprosy was 9.16 per thousand. The prevalence rate varied in different bastis with Madari basti having a very high prevalence rate of 17.31 per thousand and showing clustering. Prevalence was highest in age group 31-40 years, females, Muslims, Widower/widow, skilled workers, illiterates and primary school educated and the lower socio-economic groups. Joint families had the highest prevalence of leprosy (20.83/1,000) and also higher prevalence was seen in families with more than 7 members.

Prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in the Parsi community of Bombay.

We carried out a door-to-door survey to screen for neurologic diseases, including peripheral neuropathy, in a community of 14,010 Parsis living in housing colonies in Bombay, India. The most common neurologic disorder was peripheral neuropathy with 334 cases (2,384 cases/100,000 population). The most common neuropathy was compressive, with diabetes the most common noncompressive etiology. There was no leprosy, and nutritional neuropathies were rare.

Quarantine and the problem of AIDS.

Through history, quarantine has been a response not only to the mode of disease transmission, but also to popular demands for a boundary between the kind of people so diseased and the respectable people who hope to remain healthy. Efforts to control epidemics--leprosy, cholera, tuberculosis, drug addiction--through quarantine of large numbers of people have never been successful. AIDS patients share characteristics often invoked in defense of quarantine; they do have reason to fear anachronistic and unenlightened outrage.