Konzo

Konzo is an epidemic paralytic disease occurring in outbreaks in remote rural areas of low income African countries. The people of these regions have been associated with several weeks of almost exclusive consumption of insufficiently processed "bitter" (high cyanide) cassava (Manihot esculenta) — a perennial crop native to Amazonia in South America, but widely cultivated in tropical regions worldwide. It is the third most important food source in the tropics after rice and maize and is the staple food of tropical Africa. Cassava yields well in poor soils, is drought-resistant, and the roots give food security during droughts and famine. Nutritionally, the starchy roots are complemented by consumption of cassava leaves which are rich in proteins and vitamins. Konzo was first described by Giovanni Trolli in 1938 who compiled the observations from eight doctors working in the Kwango area of the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo).