Beriberi and Deadly Neglect

Why a disease called beriberi that should have been eradicated a century ago is still killing workers on distant-water fishing ships.

I wanted to draw your attention to a story published today in The Boston Globe. It's about a disease called beriberi that's killing deckhands at sea.

Beriberi is caused by deficiencies in vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, and often induced by diets consisting mainly of foods such as white rice or instant noodles, which are low in this vitamin. The disease, easily preventable yet fatal if left untreated, has historically appeared in prisons, asylums, and migrant camps, but it has largely been stamped out. Experts say that when it occurs at sea, beriberi often indicates criminal neglect because it is so easily treatable and avoidable.