why was leprosy such a big issue hundreds of years ago?

Question

I remember watching a documentary about a Greek town where they would send people with Leprosy. Why was leprosy such a big deal if 95% of people are immune to it?

In: 12

Answer 1

It’s not so much about the disease itself, but the myths surounding it, especially since it was slow and disfiguring .

There’s a famous mass hysteria episode in France called the [Leper’s plot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1321_lepers%27_plot) in the 14th century.
Mobs started attacking leper houses and killing everyone because of rumours that the *Lepers* were poisoning wells, paid by the *Jews*, themselves working on the orders of the *Iberian Muslims*… fun times…