ABSTRACT
Following the identification of neurosyphilis, caused by the spirochaete Treponema pallidum, that led Kraepelin to recognize the distinctive pattern of dementia praecox as a disease entity,1 Bleuler coined the term 'schizophrenia'.2 Although this 'break' between reality and 'mind' is characterized by a multiplicity of signs and symptoms, it is a highly prevalent illness recognized throughout the world, and there is now international agreement on its classification. Apart from known infectious diseases, no other illness exhibits equally marked clusters by season and locality, nurturing the hope that schizophrenia could ultimately be preventable. Although Hippocrates (460 Be) recognized the importance of 'the seasons of the year and the effects they produce ... being common to all countries as well as peculiar to each locality,' psychiatrists have been slow to accept this idea.
