01528nas a2200193   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002600055653002600081653001400107653001200121653001000133100002800143245004500171300001100216490000800227520108500235022001401320       2009                            d  c2009 Jun10aHistory, 19th Century10aHistory, 20th Century10aHospitals10aleprosy10aSpain1 aTerencio de las Aguas J00a[Centenary of the Fontilles Sanitorium].  a362-730 v1003 a<p>In recognition of the centenary of the Fontilles Sanitorium, we present some details of its history. The article discusses the foundation of the sanitorium by some of the numerous lepers with no health coverage in the region of Valencia, and Alicante in particular. After a difficult period between 1909 and 1932, the sanitorium was seized by the Republican government. After the civil war, it was returned to the board of trustees, who entrusted administrative tasks to the Compañía de Jesús while health care was overseen by the National Health Board. This coexistence was uneasy, and the board of trustees took over again in 1943. We comment on the transition from a sanitorium and colony into a hospital providing health care, research and training, and treatment with sulfones and subsequently other effective drugs. Also discussed are its role in the elimination of leprosy from Spain, admission to the International Federation of Antileprosy Associations in 1969, and its projects in endemic countries, with the ultimate goal of achieving a world free of leprosy.</p>  a0001-7310