pellagra

Traces the pellagra epidemic that spread throughout the American South a century ago, drawing on real-life cases to describe its physical and cultural impact as well as related medical reports, news articles and scientific investigations.

An account of the mysterious disease called pellagra that spread across the American South in the early 1900s that made people weak, disfigured, and insane and sometimes caused their deaths; and discusses how doctors and public health officials found the cause of the illness and stopped the epidemic.