TY - JOUR
T1 - An outbreak of pellagra in the kasese catchment area, dowa, Malawi
AU - Matapandeu, George
AU - Dunn, Samuel H.
AU - Pagels, Patti
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Pellagra is a deficiency of niacin or its amino acid precursor, tryptophan, which presents with the classic four Ds: the characteristic dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and eventually death if left untreated. The incidence of pellagra is quite rare presently because of increased awareness and strategies such as vitamin fortification. However, the deficiency is still present in cultures that rely on maize as their primary source of sustenance. We report a recent outbreak in a catchment area in Kasese, Malawi, of 691 cases of pellagra which were successfully treated with niacin supplementation. We present this short report to highlight the importance of educating providers of at-risk populations about this diagnosis and to consider solutions for these populations to prevent further deficiencies.
AB - Pellagra is a deficiency of niacin or its amino acid precursor, tryptophan, which presents with the classic four Ds: the characteristic dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and eventually death if left untreated. The incidence of pellagra is quite rare presently because of increased awareness and strategies such as vitamin fortification. However, the deficiency is still present in cultures that rely on maize as their primary source of sustenance. We report a recent outbreak in a catchment area in Kasese, Malawi, of 691 cases of pellagra which were successfully treated with niacin supplementation. We present this short report to highlight the importance of educating providers of at-risk populations about this diagnosis and to consider solutions for these populations to prevent further deficiencies.
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U2 - 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0423
DO - 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0423
M3 - Article
C2 - 28219990
AN - SCOPUS:85019146654
SN - 0002-9637
VL - 96
SP - 1244
EP - 1247
JO - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
JF - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
IS - 5
ER -