Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-02-10
"PELLAGRA" MENACEs SOUTH.
Deadly Disease May Become Epi-
demic i'm this Section.

washington, Jan. 3O.--LOOm1ng
up as a grave menace to health con-
| ditions In the South is the recent APP
pearance OF deadly disease known
to medical scientists as ''pellagra."
| This strange malady Is veritable
scourge in the Old world and the
possibility of it's becoming epidemic
| in the Southern States is by no means
remote.
For several centuries "pellagra" is
known to have existed in the old
world, but its presence in the South
| has but recently been discovered. 1t
probably has existed for several Years
in that section of the country, but
! medical men have failed to recog-
size its presence.
Now, however, this peculiar dis
ease has been diagnosed as true pei
| lagra, and the credit for its discoy-
cry in the South belongs to Passed
Assistant Surgeon G. II. Lavinder, of
the public health and marine hos
pital service. He has made q thor
| ough investigation of the disease and
| has but recently made an exhaustive
| report on his observations to Sur
geon General Wyman.
"Pellagra' is a malady caused by
| the eating OF spoiled maize" and
produces in persons afflicted with it
| a sort of intOXication. The disease
generally occurs among the poorer
classes OF the rural population, who
| SubSiSt largely, or exclusively, on
corn, most usually prepared by boil
| ing corn meal in salt water called
| "polenta' in Italy. DR.. Lavinder
states that in pcllagrouS countries
the corn is often of poor quality,
| gathered before maturity and not
| properly cured and stored, so that
| parasites more easily develop upon
| il.
Pelagra is both an endemic and
| epidemic disease, which occurs in
those who feed on diseased maize,
and is characterized by an erythema
OF the skin, digestive disturbances,
and nervous disturbances. 1t may
| terminate in such serious conditions
| as grave caCheXia or insanity; il is
| periodic i'm its manifestations, and
usually appears with the beginning
of spring, ameliorates during sum-
mer, and ordinarily in winter the
symptoms disappear TO such an eX-
| tent as often TO give the false idea
or recovery. So long as the cause
persists, however, it reappears each
year.
Thc disease usually begins with
gaStro-intcStinal disturbances" says
| Assistant Surgeon Lavinder, "fOllow-
ed shortly by the erythema of the
| skin, and in Il brief while there is
more or less involvement of the nerv-
| Gus system. 1t is Il slowly advancing
toNemia, the brunt of which, in the
end, IS borne by the nervous system.
| and each annual recurrence leaves a
| deeper and more indelible mark on
the mental and nevOuS condition of
| the SUFFERER The great gravity and
| danger OF the disease, it is pointed
out, lie in the number of people af-
fccted, and in its immediate and
| remote consequences not only to in
dividuais, but to the racc-intellec-
tual feebleness, lcsSencd resistance,
economic loss, physical deterioration
OF the race, etc"
An interesting theory advanced by
Dr. lavindcr is that ii the cause of
'pellagra' be accepted as feeding on
Spollcd maize. then the maize crop
OF the United States must in recent
years have undergone decided change
in some respect, for maize has always
been very extensively used as food
in the Southern States, and "pella-
gra has not appeared in former
years. This is a subject which. he
declares, will require extensive in
vcstigation should the disease con-
| tinuc to advance.
| Concerning the etiolOgy Of the dis
| ease, ii is said to be an intOXicatiOn
| due TO using as food Indian corn
| (maiZe), which, under the influence
OF unidentified parasitic grOwths
| (fungD, has undergone certain
| changes with the production OF one
or more toxic substances of chcmi-
cal nature.
In the preface of his report, Dr..
Lavindcr declares that there is rca-
son to believe thai perhaps "pella-
Sra may be quite prevalent in the
Southern States, but is unrecOgniZed.
within the past two or three years,
for some reason or reasons unknown,
this disease has rapidly increased in
numbers and extent of territory af-
fcctcd. "Pcllagra" bears a close re-
Scmblancc to the accepted descriD-
ton OF "pcllagra' as ii occurs in the
old world, though differing i'm some
particulars, and the acute cases
greatly prcponderatc and the mortal
ity IS high
Since ii is OF serious nature,
and epidemic in character" declares
l)r. l.avindcr, knowledge concerning
II Is becoming of much importance
TO the American physician, and es-
pccially TO the practitioner in the
Southern States"