Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and MS Center of Excellence-East, 50 Irving Street NW, Washington, DC 20422, USA.
Acta Neurol Scand. 2010 Aug;122(2):102-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2009.01266.x. Epub 2009 Nov 19.
To seek evidence for a possible infectious origin of the type 1 epidemic of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the Faroe Islands. This began in 1943 coincident with their British military occupation throughout World War II.
Data obtained from the Danish National Health Service were assessed for all notifiable diseases in the Faroe Islands reported from 1900 to 1977.
Among 38 disorders, selective increases were found for acute infectious gastroenteritis (AIGE) and paradysentery, with outbreaks in late 1940 and in 1943 shortly after the introduction and later marked influx, respectively, of British troops. Five other infections showed elevated numbers in 1941 and 1942.
There is a temporal association of AIGE and paradysentery in the Faroe Islands with the first arrival and later marked augmentation of British forces stationed there during the war. Rises in the incidence of other diseases in 1941-1942 seem more likely a consequence of increased foreign commercial travel by Faroese at that time.
探寻法罗群岛多发性硬化症（MS）1 型流行可能的传染性起源。这始于 1943 年，正值其在二战期间被英国军事占领。
对 1900 年至 1977 年期间丹麦国家卫生服务部门获得的数据进行了评估，这些数据来自法罗群岛报告的所有法定传染病。
在 38 种疾病中，急性传染性肠胃炎（AIGE）和副痢疾的发病率呈选择性上升，1940 年末和 1943 年英国军队进驻后不久分别爆发了疫情。另外五种感染病在 1941 年和 1942 年也出现了较高的数字。
法罗群岛的 AIGE 和副痢疾与战争期间第一批抵达并随后显著增加驻扎在那里的英国军队在时间上存在关联。1941-1942 年其他疾病发病率的上升似乎更有可能是当时法罗群岛人增加了外国商业旅行的结果。
