leprosy patient; person with leprosy
Medical term. The preferred modern expression is ハンセン病患者 (Hansen's disease patient). The term らい患者 is still encountered but can be considered outdated or insensitive in some contexts.
See also: ハンセン病患者
In the past, leprosy patients were isolated.
Nowadays, the term 'Hansen's disease patient' is recommended over 'leprosy patient'.
Standard modern spelling using らい in kana to avoid the deprecated kanji 癩.
Contains the kanji 癩, which is now considered discriminatory and is rarely used. Included for recognition of older texts.
Compound of らい (癩, leprosy) and 患者 (patient). The reading らい is from the on'yomi of 癩.