Bahima disease

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Obesity, Sleep & Internal medicine
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Bahima disease
File:Lacal Bowls.JPG
Synonyms
Pronounce
Specialty	Infectious disease
Symptoms	Fever, joint pain, fatigue
Complications	Chronic arthritis
Onset
Duration
Types
Causes	Bacterial infection
Risks
Diagnosis	Blood test, culture
Differential diagnosis	Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus
Prevention
Treatment	Antibiotics, pain management
Medication	Doxycycline, Ibuprofen
Prognosis	Generally good with treatment
Frequency	Rare
Deaths

Bahima disease is caused by iron deficiency in babies which are fed exclusively on cow's milk.

People affected

• Bahima disease affects children from the Hamitic Bahima people, is characterized by a tall, tower-shaped skull, often with bosses, which is recognized and treated with branding in early life.

File:Artis Ankole-Watusi Cattle (3562839197).jpg

Diagnosis

• Radiologic imaging shows diploic widening and "hair-on-end" spiculation.

Conditions to exclude

• There is no evidence of thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, or other hemolytic anemia.

Anemia

• All three cases reviewed in the literature had some degree of anemia, likely caused by iron deficiency.

• File:ONTARIO-00393 - Ankole-Watusi (14656696757).jpg

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Cause

• It is suggested that the practice of feeding children mostly cow's milk could lead to chronic iron deficiency and the development of Bahima disease.

Clinical features

• It is characterized by a tower-shaped skull, dilatation of the diploe, and no signs of thalassaemia, sickle cell or other haemolytic anaemia.

Geographic distribution

• It occurs most frequently in the Bahima people in Ankole, Uganda, from which it derives its name.

Bahima tribe

• The Bahima are a tribe that relies heavily on herding of long-horned cattle for survival.

External links

• J-Stor