"Leprosy" was once a highly fatal contagious disease. In the old society, people who contracted leprosy were usually burned alive. Leprosy can be transmitted through droplets and skin contact, leading to nerve endings necrosis, hand and foot ulcers, muscle atrophy, facial paralysis... eventually resulting in flesh decay and death due to sepsis.
In the late 1950s, leprosy had become curable. By the 1980s, highly effective drugs for curing leprosy had been developed and distributed free of charge.
The government once built some specialized treatment centers for the centralized treatment of leprosy patients. After being cured, due to the aftereffects of leprosy, amputations and ulcers on recovered patients would persist throughout their lives. Disability, discrimination, prejudice, and isolation meant that although villagers had already been cured, they had no home to return to and could only stay in rehabilitation treatment centers. Families and society not only failed to accept these rehabilitated individuals but also regarded them as demons. Currently, around 10,000 leprosy rehabilitated individuals and their families live in Yunnan Province. About 70% of leprosy rehabilitated individuals nationwide reside in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Guangxi.