A Large Outbreak of Thiamine Deficiency Among Illegal Gold Miners in French Guiana
Open accessAbstract
From September 2013 to July 2014, several gold miners working in the tropical forest consulted the Maripasoula Health Center in French Guiana for edema and findings consistent with right-sided cardiac failure. Of the 42 cases of beriberi that were diagnosed, one patient died. The laboratory and clinical investigation demonstrated vitamin B1 deficiency in most of the patients tested. Furthermore, 30 of 42 patients responded favorably to 500 mg of intravenous or intramuscular thiamine supplementation. In addition, dietary investigation showed insufficient thiamine intake in these patients. We concluded that patients had acquired beriberi because of diet restrictions, hard labor, and infectious diseases, notably malaria. In 2016, cases were still being reported. We recommend screening for compatible symptoms in gold miners, thiamine supplementation, and nutritional intervention.
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Cerebral beriberi (thiamine deficiency) may lead to encephalopathies and cognitive impairment, including memory disorder and amnesia.
“Cerebral beriberi (thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency) may lead to encephalopathies, characterized by abnormal eye movements, and cognitive impairment, involving a confused, apathetic state and a profound memory disorder, with severe amnesia and loss of recent and working memory.”
From Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence (2020) · cites this paper as [140]
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- Authors
- Mosnier, E., Niemetzky, F., Stroot, J., de Santi, V. P., Brousse, P., Guarmit, B., Blanchet, D., Ville, M., Abboud, P., Djossou, F., & Nacher, M.
- Affiliations
- Pôle des Centres Délocalisés de Prévention et de Soins, Centre Hospitalier Andrée Rosemon, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
- Centre Hospitalier Andrée Rosemon (GF)
- Direction Inter-armées du Service de Santé en Guyane, Base de Défense de Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles Guyane (GF)
- Venue
- The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Published
- 2017-05-03
- Volume
- 96
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1248-1252
- ISSN
- 0002-9637 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-1645
- PMC
- PMC5417225
- OpenAlex
- W2607215840
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 1.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Alcoholism and Thiamine Deficiency
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Thallium and Germanium Studies
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
- Keywords
- thiamine deficiency, beriberi, gold miners, illegal mining, thiamine, thiamine supplementation, dietary deficiency, malaria, right heart failure, edema, dietary intervention, French Guiana
- MeSH terms
- Criminal Behavior, Miners, Adult, Aged, Beriberi, Disease Outbreaks, Female, French Guiana, Gold, Humans, Malaria, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Thiamine, Malnutrition
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