The blood phosphorus in Egyptian infants.

Rickets is not a new disease to Egypt. Its existence dates back to ancient times. Drawings in old Egyptian tombs show that rickets existed in the times of the Pharaohs (Ruffer, 1921). Until recently (Dicks, 1922) the disease was considered to be rare in Egypt. Shawki (1928), however, demonstrated that rickets is prevalent in this country. Nearly 50 per cent. of all Egyptian infants between the ages of six months and two years suffer from this malady. Statistics collected later by Sabri (1933a) showed that even in Upper Egypt, where sunshine is abundant, rickets is nearly as common as in Cairo. The possible factors concerned in the prevalence of this disease among Egyptian infants have been the subject of many recent investigations.