How the Woman Who Found a Leprosy Treatment Was Almost Lost to History
- Born to Be a Chemist. Ball was born on July 24, 1892, in Seattle, Washington, the third of four children. ...
- Almost Lost. By all accounts, Ball worked arduously, juggling teaching during day and the chaulmoogra problem during every moment of her free time.
- From Treatment to Prevention. ...
What did Alice Ball do?
Feb 29, 2016 · Alice Augusta Ball was an African American chemist who developed the first successful treatment for Hansen’s disease (leprosy). She was born in Seattle, Washington, on July 24, 1892. A talented student, Ball graduated from Seattle High School in 1910 and later earned undergraduate degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy from the University …
What did Alice Ball discover about leprosy?
Feb 01, 2022 · Alice Augusta Ball was a Black female chemist who developed the first successful treatment for leprosy also called Hansen’s disease. This amazing woman was the first to hold a Master of Science degree from the College of Hawaii, now known as the University of Hawaii. Born July 24, 1892, in Seattle, Washington as Alice Augusta Ball her father was a lawyer, and …
What did William Ball do to cure lepers?
Ball’s chemistry know-how led to the first mainstream treatment for leprosy, a disease that at the time was condemning thousands of people worldwide to …
What did William Ball do for US?
Alice Augusta Ball was an African American chemist who developed the first successful treatment for Hansen’s disease (leprosy). She was born in Seattle, Washington, on July 24, 1892. A talented student, Ball graduated from Seattle High School in 1910 and later earned undergraduate degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy from the ...
What disease did Alice Bell develop a treatment for?
Alice Augusta Ball was an African American chemist who developed the first successful treatment for Hansen's disease (leprosy). She was born in Seattle, Washington, on July 24, 1892.
What did Alice Ball cure leprosy with?
While chaulmoogra oil had previously been used for leprosy, however Alice Ball revolutionized it and made it injectable by discovering the ester ethyl form, meaning that it was water-soluble and able to dissolve in the bloodstream.
What did Alice Ball do?
Alice Ball was a chemist who very early in her career pioneered a treatment for Hansen's Disease, known also as leprosy, which became known as the 'Ball Method. ' It was the only working treatment until antibiotics were invented.
What disease did Alice?
Alice Augusta Ball (July 24, 1892 – December 31, 1916) was an American chemist who developed the "Ball Method", the most effective treatment for leprosy during the early 20th century....Alice Ball.Alice Augusta BallFieldsChemistry8 more rows
What year did they find a cure for leprosy?
1970s: The first successful multi-drug treatment (MDT) regimen for leprosy was developed through drug trials on the island of Malta. 1981: The World Health Organization began recommending MDT, a combination of three drugs: dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine.
WHAT IS THE Ball treatment?
The treatment of leprosy with this modified Chaulmoogra oil became known as The Ball Method. The Ball Method allowed leprosy patients all over the world to be free of symptoms. In 1918, the Kalihi Hospital discharged 78 patients, free of symptoms—all were given oil injections.May 17, 2020
How did we cure leprosy?
How is leprosy cured? Antibiotics can cure leprosy. They work by killing the bacteria that cause leprosy. While antibiotics can kill the bacteria, they cannot reverse damage caused by the bacteria.
How is leprosy treated today?
Hansen's disease is treated with a combination of antibiotics. Typically, 2 or 3 antibiotics are used at the same time. These are dapsone with rifampicin, and clofazimine is added for some types of the disease. This is called multidrug therapy.
How does chaulmoogra treat leprosy?
How does it work ? Chaulmoogra might have calming- and fever-reducing properties. It might also have activity against skin disorders. Some animal research suggests it might harm the bacterium that causes leprosy.
What was leprosy?
Related Pages. Hansen's disease (also known as leprosy) is an infection caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It can affect the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose (nasal mucosa). With early diagnosis and treatment, the disease can be cured.
Who was Alice Ball?
ico_print. Alice Ball was an African American chemist who developed the first successful treatment for those suffering from Hansen’s disease (leprosy).
What was Alice Ball's first degree?
Leprosy Treatment – The Ball Method. After earning undergraduate degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry (1912) and pharmacy (1914) from the University of Washington, Alice Ball transferred to the College of Hawaii (now known as the University of Hawaii) and became the very first African American and the very first woman to graduate with a M.S.
What was the first leprosy treatment?
Her research led her to create the first injectable leprosy treatment using oil from the chaulmoogra tree, which up until then, was only a moderately successful topical agent that was used in Chinese and Indian medicine.
What was the name of the first African American woman to graduate with a M.S. degree in chemistry?
Ball was also the very first African American and the first woman to graduate with a M.S. degree in chemistry from the College of Hawaii (now known as the University of Hawaii). Tragically, Ball died at the young age of 24. During her brief lifetime, she did not get to see the full impact of her discovery.
Why did James Ball Sr. move to Honolulu?
The family enjoyed a middle-class lifestyle. In 1903, they moved from chilly Seattle to the warm weather of Honolulu in hopes that Ja mes Ball Sr.'s, arthritis pains would be alleviated. Sadly, James Ball Sr. died shortly after their move and the family relocated back to Seattle.
Where was Alice Ball born?
Alice Augusta Ball was born on July 24, 1892 in Seattle, Washington to Laura, a photographer, and James P. Ball, Jr., a lawyer. She was the middle child with two older brothers, Robert and William, and a younger sister, Addie. Her grandfather, James P. Ball Sr., was a well-known photographer and was amongst the first to practice daguerreotype photography, a process of printing photographs onto metal plates. The family enjoyed a middle-class lifestyle. In 1903, they moved from chilly Seattle to the warm weather of Honolulu in hopes that James Ball Sr.'s, arthritis pains would be alleviated. Sadly, James Ball Sr. died shortly after their move and the family relocated back to Seattle. Ball excelled at Seattle High School, graduated in 1910, and went onto obtain multiple graduate degrees from the University of Washington and the College of Hawaii.
Who was the president of the College of Hawaii after Ball died?
What’s more, following her death, the president of the College of Hawaii, Dr. Arthur Dean, continued Ball’s research without giving her credit for the discovery. Dean even claimed her discovery for himself, calling it the “Dean Method.”.
What happened to Miss Ball?
A 1917 newspaper article in the Honolulu Pacific Commercial Advertiser states, “While instructing her class in September 1916, Miss Ball suffered from chlorine poisoning.”. At the time, ventilation hoods were not mandatory in laboratories.
Where was Alice Ball born?
Ball was born on July 24, 1892, in Seattle, Washington, the third of four children. Several of her family members were photographers, including her grandfather, J.P. Ball, Sr., who was among the first African-Americans in the United States to learn the art of daguerreotype, the first successful form of photography. It’s easy to imagine young Alice observing the complex daguerreotype process throughout her childhood and developing an interest in chemistry.
What is Alice Augusta Ball's oil?
Alice Augusta Ball developed an injectable form of chaulmoogra oil, which was used for 20 years to treat Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. News.
How many antibiotics are used for Hansen's disease?
From Treatment to Prevention. Today, Hansen’s disease is completely curable with a course of multiple drug therapy using three antibiotics, in addition to other medicines to prevent complications.
Who was the woman who found the leprosy treatment?
How the Woman Who Found a Leprosy Treatment Was Almost Lost to History. The daughter of daguerreotype pioneers, Alice Ball used her passion for chemistry to develop an injection that stayed in use for 20 years. In 1916, Harry T. Hollmann, an assistant surgeon at Kalihi Hospital in Hawaii, had a problem he needed to solve.
Who created the Chaulmoogra solution?
Her name might have been completely lost to history except for a brief mention in a 1922 medical journal, in which Hollmann makes it plain that Ball created the chaulmoogra solution, referring to it as the “Ball Method.” (See pictures of the hidden women of the U.S. space race .)
How much of the world population is resistant to Hansen's disease?
About 95 percent of the world population is actually resistant to the bacteria, so it takes really close contact for a long period of time to get the disease.”. Ultimately, preventing Hansen’s disease involves a vaccine.
What did Ball do that no one before her was able to?
What Ball did that no one before her was able to, was to turn leprosy’s only treatment at the time, chaulmoogra oil, into a water-soluble formula that could be easily injected, Natural Science explained in a profile published February 26.
Who was the first black woman to cure leprosy?
Alice Ball, a Black Woman, Discovered Leprosy Treatment. In 1915, a 23-year-old graduate student from Seattle named Alice Ball developed a life-saving treatment for Hansen’s disease, better known as leprosy, while working on her master’s thesis at the University of Hawaiʻi.
When is Alice Ball Day?
On the same day, the former Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, Mazie Hirono, declared February 29 "Alice Ball Day," which is now celebrated every four years. In 2007, the University Board of Regents honored Ball with a Medal of Distinction, the school's highest honor.
Who stole Ball's work?
Unfortunately, due to her untimely death, Ball was unable to publish her revolutionary findings. Arthur L. Dean , a chemist and later the president of the University of Hawaii, stole her work, published the findings, and began producing large quantities of the injectable chaulmoogra extract.
What is the best treatment for leprosy?
Chaulmoogra oil had been the best treatment available for leprosy for hundreds of years, and Ball developed a much more effective injectable form. In 1915 she became the first woman and first Black American to graduate with a master's degree from the College of Hawaii.
How many patients were discharged from Kalihi Hospital?
In 1920, a Hawaii physician reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that 78 patients had been discharged from Kalihi Hospital by the board of health examiners after treatment with injections of Ball's modified chaulmoogra oil.
Where did people with leprosy go?
People diagnosed with leprosy were exiled to the Hawaiian island of Molokai with the expectation that they would die there. The best treatment available was chaulmoogra oil, from the seeds of the Hydnocarpus wightianus tree from the Indian subcontinent, which had been used medicinally from as early as the 1300s.
What is the name of the park in Seattle named after?
In 2018, a new park in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood was named after Ball. In 2019, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine added her name to the frieze atop its main building, along with Florence Nightingale and Marie Curie, in recognition of their contributions to science and global health research.
What was Alice Ball's family's background?
She was one of four children, with two older brothers, William and Robert, and a younger sister, Addie. Her family was middle-class and well off, as Ball's father was a newspaper editor of the Colored Citizen, photographer, and lawyer. Her mother also worked as a photographer. Her grandfather, James Ball Sr., was a famous photographer, and one of the first Black Americans to make use of daguerreotypy, the process of printing photographs onto metal plates. Some researchers have suggested that her parents' and grandfather's love for photography may have played a role in her love for chemistry, as they worked with mercury vapors and iodine sensitized silver plates to develop photos. Despite being prominent members and advocates of the African American community, both of Ball's parents are listed as "White" on her birth certificate. This may have been an attempt to reduce the prejudice and racism their daughter would face and help her "pass" in white society.
How did Alice Ball die?
Unfortunately, Alice Ball’s career ended shortly after her great discovery. She inhaled chlorine gas by accident during a demonstration of anti-gas masks in the laboratory. She then returned to Seattle for treatment but after a few months she died, probably due to the effects of chlorine gas inhalation.
Who was Alice Ball?
Alice Augusta Ball was born in Seattle in 1892, in a humble but fighting family. Her grandfather had been an important abolitionist and photographer , the work of which focused on portraying the great black leaders of his time. It was a hard time for women and more specifically for African Americans. In Seattle, 1910, 84% of black women with a profession worked as domestic servants. But as I said, Alice came from a family of fighters, so in 1910 she entered the University of Washington, where she graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. After college, she accepted a scholarship to study a master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Hawaii, where he was subsequently hired as a chemistry teacher. The fighter Alice had just become the first African American woman to get that position.
Why is Alice Ball not so famous?
Why, then, is Alice Ball not more famous? One reason is that credit wasn’t given to her at the time. Ball’s colleague Arthur Dean (played by Wallace Langham), who was president of the University of Hawaii, took her findings as his own, naming the technique the Dean method. There was no mention of Ball in his papers.
Who played Alice Ball in One Remedy?
By 1915, when the film is set, one remedy was beginning to show promise. We are introduced to Alice Ball (played by Kiersey Clemons), a chemistry professor at the University of Hawaii, as she visits Kalihi Hospital in Honolulu.
What is the name of the chemical compound that Ball tries to purify?
In between teaching students at her university, Ball tries to purify the oil into chemical compounds called ethyl esters so it can be successfully injected. To do this, the oil first needs to be converted into fatty acids. Ball has a eureka moment.
When was leprosy eliminated?
IN 2000, the World Health Organization declared that leprosy had been eliminated as a global public health problem, due to effective multi-drug treatments. It is a disease that has long been stigmatised due to disfiguration it can cause. The story of one unsung hero in the development of a treatment for leprosy is told in the short film The Ball Method.
What is the ball method?
Short film The Ball Method tells the story of Alice Ball. She helped develop an effective treatment for leprosy, then a senior colleague claimed her work as his own giving her no credit
Does Ball help with leprosy?
Ball has been enlisted to help develop a treatment for leprosy by Dr Harry Hollmann (Kyle Secor) using the oil from the seeds of the chaulmoogra tree . Chaulmoogra oil seemed to work in treating some cases of leprosy and had already been used for centuries in China and India for skin ailments. Taking the oil orally caused nausea, so it was ...
Who was the first black woman to teach chemistry?
Looking at the facts, that doesn’t seem like much of a stretch. At only 23, Ball was the first woman and first black American to teach chemistry and obtain a master’s degree at the University of Hawaii. But being a black woman in this environment wasn’t easy.
Who Was Alice Ball?
Early Life and Family
- Alice Augusta Ball was born on July 24, 1892 in Seattle, Washington to Laura, a photographer, and James P. Ball, Jr., a lawyer. She was the middle child with two older brothers, Robert and William, and a younger sister, Addie. Her grandfather, James P. Ball Sr., was a well-known photographer and was amongst the first to practice daguerreotype photography, a process of printing photogr…
Leprosy Treatment – The Ball Method
- After earning undergraduate degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry (1912) and pharmacy (1914) from the University of Washington, Alice Ball transferred to the College of Hawaii (now known as the University of Hawaii) and became the very first African American and the very first woman to graduate with a M.S. degree in chemistry in 1915. She was offered a teaching and research posi…
Death and Discovery Credit Stolen
- Tragically, Ball died on December 31, 1916, at the young age of 24 after complications resulting from inhaling chlorine gas in a lab teaching accident. During her brief lifetime, she did not get to see the full impact of her discovery. What’s more, following her death, the president of the College of Hawaii, Dr. Arthur Dean, continued Ball’s research without giving her credit for the discovery. …
Long Overdue Accolades
- In 2000, the University of Hawaii-Mānoa placed a bronze plaque in front of a chaulmoogra tree on campus to honor Ball’s life and her important discovery. Former Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, Mazie Hirono, also declared February 29 “Alice Ball Day.” In 2007, the University of Hawaii posthumously awarded her with the Regents’ Medal of Distinction. In 2017, Paul Wermager, a sc…