03 - Beriberi on Christmas Island

Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is remote and difficult to access by sea. The discovery of phosphate in the late 19th century changed its fortunes. In 1899 workers arrived to tame the island. Soon after they arrived, an ancient disease with an unknown cause and no known cure joined them - beriberi.

References:
Arts, Nicolass JM et al 2017 “Korsakoff’s syndrome: a critical review” Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment  vol 13 pp 2875-2890
https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S130078

Blevins, Melissa 2014 “Why are vitamins labeled A, B (and all the sub B’s), C, etc.?”, Today I Found Out, http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/04/vitamins-labeled-b-sub-bs-c-etc/

Carpenter, Kenneth J. 2005 "Beriberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure", University of California Press

Hunt, John 2011 "Suffering through strength: The men who made Christmas Island", Blue Star Print ACT

McCutechon, Peter 24 June 2021 "Christmas Island future uncertain as phosphate mine starts to wind down", ABC News, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-24/christmas-island-future-uncertain-as-phosphate-mine-winds-down/100231824

Mozaffarian, Dariush et al 2018 “History of modern nutrition science—implications for current research, dietary guidelines, and food policy” BMJ https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2392

Sinha, Shirshendu et al 2019 “Wernicke Encephalopathy - Clinical Pearls” Mayo Clinical Proceedings Vol 94 Iss 6
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.02.018

Wikipedia "Christmas Island" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Island#Demographics

Wilson, Robert Beaumont 2020 “Pathophysiology, prevention and treatment of beriberi after gastric surgery” Nutrition Reviews, Volume 78, Issue 12, pp 1015-1029 https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaa004

Yeoh, Fran "The old hospital and the scourge of beriberi", Christmas Island Archives, https://christmasislandarchives.com/old-hospital/