Beriberi was discovered in the seventeenth century in Java by the Dutch physician Jacobius Bonitus. The name means "sheep" in the local language; this describes the characteristic gait of patients.

Today, beriberi is confined to the poorest parts of Asia where little else is eaten except polished rice.

Prevention of beriberi requires:

• a more varied diet, including legumes and pulses
• thiamine supplementation of rice

There are three forms of beriberi:

• dry beriberi
• wet beriberi
• infantile beriberi