beriberi
Last reviewed 01/2018
Beriberi was discovered in the seventeenth century in Java by the Dutch physician Jacobius Bonitus. The name means "sheep" in the local language; this describes the characteristic gait of patients.
Today, beriberi is confined to the poorest parts of Asia where little else is eaten except polished rice.
Prevention of beriberi requires:
- a more varied diet, including legumes and pulses
- thiamine supplementation of rice
There are three forms of beriberi:
- dry beriberi
- wet beriberi
- infantile beriberi