The extraordinary story of Alice Ball, scientist who created the 1st treatment for leprosy

Although she died young, at the age of 24, Alice Ball left a deep mark on the scientific world.

African-American chemist developed the first and only effective treatment for thousands of people who, in 1915, were suffering from leprosy, formerly known as leprosy.

But she broke more barriers: Ball also set an important precedent for women interested in the complex branches of science, which in those years were predominantly led by white men.

successful university career

Alice Augusta Ball was born on July 24, 1892 in Seattle, Washington, to a middle-class family.

His mother, Laura, was a photographer and his father, James P. Ball, a lawyer. She had two older brothers, Robert and William, and a younger sister, Addie.

His grandfather was one of the first blacks to use a daguerreotype, the first photographic process to be marketed to the general public.

She attended Seattle High School in high school, graduating with honors in science in 1910. She later entered the University of Washington to study chemistry.

Four years later, in 1914, he obtained degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences. The young student stood out among her peers for co-authoring a ten-page article in the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Thanks to these accomplishments, after graduating, Ball received a scholarship to study at the University of Hawaii.

It was there, in 1915, that she became the first woman and the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a master’s degree in chemistry. The university offered a place for teaching and research, and at just 23 years old, she became the institution’s first chemistry professor.

Ball method

In the lab, Ball worked hard to develop a successful treatment for those suffering from leprosy.

There are indications that the disease has affected humanity for at least 4,000 years. Even at the beginning of the 20th century there was little information on how to cure it.

Thousands of people around the world suffered from the effects of leprosy without getting adequate treatment. In addition, patients were deeply stigmatized. Many were forced to live in isolation until death.

The only antidote given to some patients was an oil from the seeds of the chaulmoogra tree, used for centuries in Chinese and Indian medicine.

But the success of this treatment was limited. Many sick people gave up using the oil. When injected, it was extremely painful. And it tended to turn the stomach when taken orally.

The Doctor. Harry T. Hollmann, who worked at Kalihi Hospital in Hawaii, specializing in leprosy patients, asked Alice Ball to help find a solution. In those years, leprosy was common in the Hawaiian archipelago.

She then isolated the chemical compounds in the oil (the ethyl esters of fatty acids) and with them created the first water-soluble drug, which was easy to inject because it could be easily absorbed into the bloodstream.

Thus, the scientist came up with a successful method to alleviate the symptoms of leprosy — later known as the Ball Method — which was used in thousands of infected people for more than 30 years until the arrival of dapsone, an antibiotic of the sulfone class.

What is leprosy?

It is a disease that affects humanity for thousands of years and is still present. Leprosy is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae, transmitted by droplets from the nose and mouth of infected people.

The infection mainly affects the peripheral nerves and the skin, and the patient can have serious complications such as disfigurement, deformities and disabilities, either from neurological damage or blindness.

Leprosy bacteria destroy the body’s ability to feel pain, which can cause a person to inadvertently hurt themselves and their wounds can become infected.

Skin changes can also occur causing ulcers which, if left untreated, can lead to complications, sores and disfigurement of the face and limbs.

Early diagnosis and timely and appropriate treatment are two fundamental pillars for disease control. But for centuries leprosy has been a disease misunderstood by society, according to experts.

In some parts of the world, people with leprosy continue to be feared, and old perceptions of the disease as a “biblical curse” persist.

death and legacy

Sadly, Alice Ball could not see the impact of her work because in December 1916 she died at just 24 years old. The young woman was not even able to publish her findings.

Although the cause of his death is not clear, it is believed that it may have been caused by inhaling toxic gases during his work in the laboratory or by tuberculosis.

Chemist Arthur L. Dean continued Ball’s work and published the results. In 1918, it was reported that 79 patients from Kalihi Hospital were discharged thanks to this treatment which continued to be used until the 1940s.

Although the University of Hawaii did not recognize his work for nearly 90 years, in 2000 it finally paid tribute with a commemorative plaque on the campus’s only chaulmoogra tree.

Alice Ball’s name is also inscribed at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine alongside names like Florence Nightingale and Marie Curie.

Scientist Paul Wermager, who has done extensive research on Ball’s work, noted that the young woman not only achieved the first useful treatment for leprosy, but also overcame the racial and gender barriers of the time.

Many of her admirers today wonder how many other discoveries she could have achieved had she not died so young.