Aetiology Theories about Pellagra at the End of the Nineteenth Century and Early Twentieth Century in the Vision of Romanian Doctors

Abstract

Pellagra is the prototype of the social disease from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, affecting tens of thousands of people each year, particularly in rural areas. Trying to find a solution for this social plague, medical staff of that time, as V. Babeş, A. Babeş, I. Felix, D. Sergiu, I. Neagoe, have done original researches, with minimal material resources, regarding aetiology and treatment of pellagra. Proposals of prophylactic treatment consisting in domestic education lessons and attempts to improve the economic situation of the peasants were the results of aetiology researches.