Q: Where did this disease originate ?

A: Well, the first occurence of the Neimann-Pick disease was in 1914 by Albert Neimann . "... Neimann described a young child with an enlarged liver and spleen, enlarged lymph glands, swelling and darkening of the skin of the face. The child had brain and nervous system impairment and died before the age of two. Later, in the 1920's, Luddwick Pick studied tissues after death of such children and provided evidence of the new disorder. " This qoute simply states that after an encounter with one child that contained the disease, Albert Neimann went back with the help of another and studied the symptons and tissues of others who had died of a similar thing.

http://judaism.about.com/od/health/p/niemannpick.html