Pellagra, a re-emerging disease: a case report of a girl from a community ravaged by insurgency

Abstract

Pellagra is a nutritional disorder of niacin deficiency which is characterized by triad of dermatitis, diarrhea and dementia. It is often seen in a state of poor nutrition among alcoholics, homeless and patients suffering from malabsorption. Though seldom occurs in children, its re-emerging is seen as a result of worsening food security in vulnerable population during conflict or insurgency. We report the case of 12-year-old female pastoralist who presented darkening and thickening of the hands, feet, ankles, neck and her upper trunk. Conflicts and insurgency usually occur in resource constraint settings where health workers are few and overworked. Therefore, continuously educating health workers and the general public regarding nutrition and its disorders like pellagra is a priority. Public Health authorities and policy makers also ought to take pediatric nutrition serious in order to avoid its escalation in internally displaced persons or children orphaned by insurgency.

Keywords

• pellagra
• children
• nutrition
• dermatitis
• diarrhea
• conflict