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Middle East
Egypt's leprosy colony lives on
Patients refuse right to return to their villages as the disease still carries a huge social stigma.
Last Modified: 08 Sep 2010 10:55 GMT



Since the 1930s, leprosy patients in Egypt have been rounded up and placed in the town of Abu Zaabal. The Egyptian government has now offered the inhabitants the right to return to their villages and cities.

But many have refused, preferring to live and work away from the social stigma that often comes with their disease. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Abu Zaabal, one of the world's last leprosy colonies.

Source:
Al Jazeera
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