Infrastructure neglect and poverty lead to parasites in the Mississippi Delta

[Jilly_in_VA]

For years, Marecitta Dorsey’s four children – ages seven to 14 – suffered regular bouts of nausea, vomiting and sore stomachs. Their unexplained symptoms were bad enough to keep them out of school a few days each month.

“My eldest would tell me, ‘I feel like my tummy’s burning,’” recalled Dorsey. “Every week I was taking at least one kid to the doctor because of something with their stomach.”

She suspected their ailments had something to do with the water. Her children, she said, never had stomach problems before they moved to the Delta.

Dorsey and her family lived in Shaw, Mississippi, a town of 1,400 people about 110 miles (175km) north of Jackson. The area is plagued by sanitation problems – residents in Bolivar county filed half a dozen complaints to state officials just last year about wastewater leaks and burst pipes that have exposed them to raw sewage.

Now, researchers warn that these problems are probably contributing to widespread intestinal infections and parasites such as hookworm, roundworm and tapeworm.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/01/mississippi-delta-water-parasites

Let's not forget racism.....

[SheltieLover]

1. If the dumb mofos would wear their shoes...

I've tried to tell people this & get bovine stares.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. That ONLY prevents hookworm

Not tapeworm or roundworms. And your comment hints of racism too.

[SheltieLover]

4. My comment has nothing to do with racism.

Where did you get that idea?

There are many other factors in addition to people not wearing shoes, such as hand washing & careful food prep.

[Hekate]

3. The drinking & bathing water is contaminated

[Blue_Tires]

5. And yet, the state still keeps electing Republicans

Americans are some of the worst people at understanding cause-and-effect...

[Jilly_in_VA]

6. That might have something to do with voter suppression

Don't you think?

[Blue_Tires]

7. Agreed