Tag: Pellagra history

Between 1906 and 1940, over 3 million Americans contracted pellagra, a severe niacin deficiency disease that became an epidemic in the rural South. During the early 1900s, this mysterious illness caused widespread suffering and death, baffling doctors who initially mistook it for an infectious disease.

In the early 20th century, pellagra, a devastating disease, caused widespread suffering and death, especially across the American South. The eventual cure, discovered through groundbreaking dietary research, was the administration of niacin, also known as vitamin B3.

According to the World Health Organization, outbreaks of pellagra have been reported among displaced populations and refugees in recent history, though the condition was once widespread across Europe and the American South. The primary way people get pellagra is through a diet severely lacking in niacin (vitamin B3) or its precursor, tryptophan.