HISTORY OF DERMATOLOGY
Vitiligo and Leprosy
Hypomelanosis conditions are known since ancient times. The most ancient names to describe these pictures were "Shwetakustha" and "Suitra".
The term ´Shweta-Kushtha´, in the book Atharva-Veda of the 15th century BC, can be translated literally as white (shweta) - leprosy (kushtha) while the term "suitra" is found in the Manusmriti, a work of Hindu law and ancient Indian society dating between the 2nd sec. BC and 2nd AD.
The vitiligo has long been confused with the leprosy and with other leukoderma diseases, therefore the Hebrew word 'Zora' or 'Tzaraat/Tzoraath' was translated using the Greek word "Lepros" and the Latin word "Lepra". There is a well-known example in the Old Testament. Naaman, captain of the hosts of the King of Syria, (suffering from psoriasis, Russel 1950), on the advice of Elisha, washed seven times in the Jordan to rid himself of 'Zaraath'.
The ancient Greek writers divided cutaneous diseases into three classes: psora, lepra, and lichen. The leprosy was also known to the Greeks under the name Elephantiasis Graecorum but in the early Middle Ages when the Arabic texts were being translated into Latin, the translators confused Lepra Graecorum with Elephantiasis Graecorum, making understand that all scaly conditions of the skin were due to the leprosy.
Therefore to describe the true leprosy was introduced the term: Lepra Arabum.
The term “vitiligo” has been derived instead from the Latin word “vitelius” and was coined by Aulus Cornelius Celsus (ca 25 BC—ca 50) in his work "De Medicina".
During all the early Middle Ages there is again a complete identification between hypomelanosis and Leprosy and only in the early ´800 (1832), in the work of Dermatology of Baron Alibert, the picture of vitiligo is clarified definitively. (Abstract)

Prof. Camillo Di Cicco, MD
American Association for the History of Medicine
19th EADV Congress, Gothenburg/Sweden.

Dear Prof. Di Cicco, Here in India we know about that historic(ancient actually) mix-up between leprosy and vitiligo. 'Shweta-Kushtha' can be translated literally as white(shweta) - leprosy(kushtha)... that started an unfortunate confusion between these two diseases which is still prevalent in some part of the globe.....
Respectfully,
Dr. Koushik Lahiri National General Secretary Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists 2006-08

Tzaraat refers to a group of skin diseases that, according to the Old Testament, renders one ritually unclean. Analysis of the text reveals that there are four categories of lesions discussed. Each category has a primary lesion as well as specific secondary changes. The primary lesions include depigmented lesions on previously healthy skin, lesions on previously abnormal skin, lesions on areas of diffuse alopecia, and lesions of localized alopecia. It is unlikely that these diseases have a modern-day counterpart. (J Am Acad Dermatol 1982 Jan;6(1):131-4) Steve Emmet, MD

Neither Greeks nor Hebrews knew about the bacterial origin of certain diseases and of course terms did not mean what they mean now.Leviticus writes about Tzoraath and from the description it would encompass many things,including houses with moldy walls(yes houses could have the disease).From the description one may safely recognize that cases of vitiligo would also be included.When the Tanaj(Old Testament)was translated into Greek in Alexandria(now Egypt) the so-called Septuagint.Tsoraath was translated using the greek word "Lepros" which means a scale or scales.This plus the phonetic resemblance of the word Tsoraath(which in Ahkenazi pronunciation would read tsoraas) led to the belief that"leprosy" was psoriasis.In truth,in all likelihood most cases of biblical "leprosy" were achromic or hypochromic disorders who would include vitiligo, some cases of psoriasis,cases of pityriasis alba,probably albinism and yes..some cases of what we call leprosy too. Mauricio Goihman, MD

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