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Pellagra

NutritionalNiacin (B3) deficiency1735 (first described by Gaspar Casal)Dietary deficiency
TypeNutritional
CauseNiacin (B3) deficiency
First Known1735 (first described by Gaspar Casal)
TransmissionDietary deficiency

About Pellagra

The 4 Ds: dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and death. Rampant in the American South in the early 1900s, killing over 100,000. Joseph Goldberger proved it was dietary, not infectious, in 1914. Niacin fortification of flour eliminated it. Despite evidence, some doctors insisted it was contagious.

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