Opthalmia, an eye disease caused by lack of vitamin A, became prevalent causing blindness due to ulceration and keratomalacia, generally in one eye. It became common in workhouses and among children: 13,000 cases were recorded in 1849 and 27,000 in 1850. Taken from The Truth Behind The Irish Famine. 72 Paintings, 472 eyewitness quotes. http://www.jerrymulvihill.com