Scurvy is a disease that likely conjures up images of sickly sailors from hundreds of years ago, but doctors in Canada are being warned to look out for the condition now, as a result of growing food insecurity.
A report published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) details the case study of a 65-year-old woman diagnosed with scurvy at a Toronto hospital last year.
The authors say the case points to the need for physicians to consider the possibility of scurvy, particularly among patients at higher risk for nutrient deficiencies, including people with low socioeconomic status and isolated older adults.
“This isn’t the first case of scurvy that I’ve seen in my career so far,” said Dr. Sally Engelhart, the study’s lead author and an internal medicine specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
In 1970 I was one of the three recorded cases of scurvy in Canada. I was young poor and very often hungry. The doctor I finally saw was incredulous. I was the first case of scurvy he had ever seen. He gave me a prescription and told me to go buy some oranges. I told him I had no money for either so he bought me the prescription and the oranges out of his own pocket. I have been forever thankful.
The story of scurvy is wild. It keeps getting cured and then reappears. Crazy that’s it’s coming back again.