Cases of scurvy on the rise among children in France, particularly since Covid-19

Scurvy is a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C and can cause serious health problems.

According to a recent study carried out by French medical teams and consulted on Friday December 20 by franceinfo, cases of scurvy are on the rise among children in France. In total, 888 cases were recorded in children between 2015 and 2023, especially since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to this study carried out by AP-HP, Inserm, the University of Paris-Cité and the pediatric department of Cayenne hospital in Guyana, the number of children hospitalized for scurvy has increased by a third since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic: 532 sick children were recorded between 2020 and 2023, almost all in mainland France.

Researchers observed over the same period an increase in cases of severe malnutrition, as explained by Ulrich Meinzer, pediatrician at the Robert Debré hospital in Paris and one of the authors of the study. He receives more and more precarious families in his office. A situation that he describes as“alarming”. “There is currently a population of children aged 5 to 10 years old in France who are exposed to a profound nutritional deficiency. I think this is a public health problem that requires an urgent response”explains the doctor. The cause is the rise in prices since Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine which prevents certain precarious families from purchasing enough fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C.

This disease – common among 18th century sailors who lacked vitamin C and which was thought to have disappeared in developed countries – can cause serious health problems: bone pain, muscle weakness or even hemorrhages.