The oldest leprosy records held by the National Archives of Iceland (NAI) date back to the seventeenth century, but most date from shortly after the mid-nineteenth century.
The Danish Order of Oddfellows established the Leprosy Hospital in Laugarnes in 1898. The archive of this establishment is kept in the NAI and includes health records of patients from 1898-1960. These contain detailed descriptions of physical examination, the history of the disease of each patient and accounts of relations between the patients and other leprosy sufferers. There are also records of people with leprosy from 1896, a collection of letters and various documents relating to the operation of the Leprosy Hospital.
All records from the last eighty years relating to individual patients are treated as confidential, and require special permission before they are accessed. Applicants requesting access to these records must inform the NAI how information from the records will be processed and published.
Entry made 5 June 2002