Survivors inhabit 600 isolated, if relatively normal, colonies
(NEWSER) - It may seem unbelievable, but 20,000 Chinese citizens live in isolated colonies for people who suffer an ancient, debilitating disease: leprosy. More than 600 state-run colonies exist throughout China, usually separated from society by nature—the government took care to build them on islands, mountaintops, or generally inaccessible locations. Though the government stopped forcibly detaining people affected with leprosy in 1980—the US only stopped doing so in 1960—the colonies retain many of their inhabitants who, after years, have lost their connections to the outside world. More»
