Thiamin-Fortified Fish Sauce as a Means of Combating Infantile Beriberi in Rural Cambodia

Low levels of the vitamin thiamin (B1) in the diet of breastfeeding mothers in Southeast Asia results in widespread beriberi disease in their infants, causing heart failure and thousands of child deaths.  In Cambodia alone, the problem kills about 700 children per year.  The project will introduce fortified fish sauce to mothers’ diets, a simple, cost-effective and sustainable way to raise maternal blood and breast milk thiamin levels, helping to lower the rate of infantile beriberi.