A disease long forgotten has made
a resurgence in the U.S. Rickets, an affliction primarily affecting
children deficient in vitamin D, softens bones and causes them to
bend.
The cause of the recent
outbreak, investigators believe, is the result of a reduction in
children's consumption of cow's milk. Parents have instead been
giving milk substitutes and breast-feeding. Cow's milk, however,
has been fortified with vitamin D since the 1930s, which virtually
eliminated the problem in the country.