(no subject)

[camwyn]

I am not sure why but apparently, in Dutch, "David's flu" or "Mary's diabetes" is rendered almost exactly the same way as in English- Davids griep or Marias diabetes- whereas a disease that has someone's name on it because that person discovered it gets the fancy possessive. Ziekte van Hansen, ziekte van Huntington, filiarasis van Bancroft, etc.

And then there's Fourniergangreen.

*files as addendum to the Ten Diseases You Were Better Off Not Knowing About chapter of That's Incurable*