Researchers find traces of Vitamin C deficiency disease Scurvy in Canada

In a recent study, researchers have found traces of a disease known as Scurvy in Canada. The debilitating condition is remembered as a disease of pirates.

Scurvy, which is caused by Vitamin C deficiency, can result in bruising, weakness, anaemia, gum disease, haemorrhage, tooth loss, and even death if undiagnosed and untreated. The study was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

McMaster University researchers surveyed the data of patients of Hamilton's two hospital systems over nine years and found 52 with low Vitamin C levels. This included 13 patients who could be diagnosed as having scurvy and an additional 39 who tested positive for scurvy but did not have documented symptoms.

Among those with scurvy, some were related to alcohol use disorder or to bariatric surgery but the majority were related to other causes of malnutrition such as persistent vomiting, purposeful dietary restrictions, mental illness, social isolation and dependence on others for food.

According to John Neary, associate professor of medicine at McMaster and the senior author of the study, "Scurvy is seen as a disease irrelevant to the modern world, but it still exists, and clinicians caring for at-risk patients should be aware of it and know how to diagnose it."

First author Kayla Dadgar, who did the research as a medical student at McMaster, said: "Scurvy should be a 'never event' in a healthy society. That it still occurs in Canada in our time indicates that we are not supporting vulnerable people as we should."

The patients with scurvy who were given Vitamin C had a rapid recovery of their symptoms.