Mason R, Wilkinson JS.
Diseases of the thyroid have been known for many thousands of years, having been recorded by the Ancient Chinese, and epidemic goitre still affects an estimated 200 million people. Most of the notorious endemic goitre areas are located in high mountain regions and certain low lying areas that were subject to flooding and glaciation during the last Icc Age. In many of these areas, where endemic goitre occurs in man, goitre has also been reported in domestic animals (Kelly and Sneddon 1960). While the clinical manifestations of endemic goitre may not be as severe in Aus- tralia as in some other countries, the condition docs occur in comparable geographical regions, namely alluvial river valleys and mountainous areas, and in most cases co-exists with goitre in livestock.