Rickets found in Irish infants

RICKETS, a disease thought to have been eradicated at the end of the last World War, has re-emerged in Ireland in infants suffering from a lack of vitamin D.

A report published yesterday by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said 23 cases of rickets were reported at two Dublin paediatric hospitals in recent years. The group is calling for a Government policy of vitamin D supplementation for infants aged 0-12 months on foot of the report findings.

Dr Mary Flynn, chairwoman of the Working Group on Vitamin D Supplementation for Infants in Ireland, said the re-emergence of rickets was surprising at a time when most nutrition-related diseases were caused by excess.