““A not uncommon practice was to associate nationality with a particular disease, often sexually transmitted. For example, the English called syphilis "The French Disease"; the French called it "The Italian Disease"; the Italians called it "The Turkish Disease"; the Russians called it "The Polish Disease"; and both the Japanese and the Indians termed it "The Portuguese Disease." Only the Spanish accepted any blame, referring to it as "The Spanish Disease.””
![“Disease [is] as one of our languages. Doctors understand what…” quote by Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/093/susanna-kaysen-3041_disease_disease-is-as-one-of-our-languages-docto_585923.jpg)
