Scurvy is a disease resulting from a severe deficiency of vitamin C in the body. Doctors and researchers revealed in a recent study the spread of this disease among children, and its spread has accelerated since the “Covid-19” pandemic.
In this report published by the French newspaper Media Part, Caroline Cook Choudorg said that doctors had noticed for years in various pediatric departments in France the return of scurvy.
Professor Ulrich Mainzer from the Robert Debray Children’s Hospital in Paris said: “This disease led to the death of at least two million people between the 16th and 20th centuries. The victims were primarily sailors who spent months at sea and whose diet lacked fruits and vegetables. After that, “The disease has almost disappeared from rich countries, and has only been detected among immigrant populations.”
It seems that this disease has returned to France, and Mainzer says, “The Robert Debray Hospital where I work is located in the north of Paris, where the poor population lives. For many years we have noticed an alarming increase in instability. Families live on the streets and do not eat every day. We have begun to record the spread of “Scurvy again.”
Based on these observations in the departments, pediatricians from the Robert Debray Hospital in Paris and the Cayenne Hospital in Guyana, in cooperation with researchers from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, wanted to determine the exact number of cases diagnosed in France between January 2015 and November 2023 based on Medical hospitalization data.
The doctors’ study – published in the leading medical journal “The Lancet” – shows an alarming return of scurvy among children in France since 2015.
According to statistics, 888 people have been hospitalized due to scurvy until 2023, and cases have been diagnosed throughout France.
Serious vitamin C deficiency
Scurvy is caused by a serious deficiency in vitamin C. According to Professor Mainzer, this disease manifests itself in a severe deterioration in health, bone pain, muscle weakness, and bleeding gums.
Although scurvy can lead to death, it can be easily treated by taking a small amount of vitamin C.
Returning to France, the rate of scurvy cases has increased by 34.5% since the beginning of the Corona pandemic between March 2020 and November 2023.
“This increase is up to 200% among children between the ages of 5 and 10 years,” Mainzer says, and this increase is associated with an equal increase during the same period in acute malnutrition among children.
Children with scurvy often follow a poor diet based on eating pasta or rice, which gives a feeling of fullness at a lower cost.
“They eat fewer fruits and vegetables, undoubtedly for economic reasons, which makes them highly vulnerable to vitamin C deficiency,” Mainzer adds.