El Salvador's sugarcane workers and their silent killer
El Salvador's sugarcane workers and their silent killer
A small organisation is tackling a deadly epidemic of chronic disease among El Salvador's sugarcane workers.
14 Jun 2016 15:35 GMT
In El Salvador, a mysterious epidemic has been killing thousands of young sugarcane workers and devastating the country's most impoverished communities.
The epidemic is responsible for more deaths inside the sugarcane-producing community than leukaemia, diabetes and Aids combined.
For years, the deaths have been blamed on the workers' unhealthy lifestyles, chemical fertilisers and even bacterial infections. But there is growing consensus among medical professionals that the real reason may be far simpler - the extreme work conditions.
Rising temperatures, hard labour and dehydration all contribute to a decline in kidney function. Over time, the accumulated effect becomes chronic, leaving individuals at the mercy of chronic kidney disease.
More:
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/thecure/2016/06/el-salvador-sugarcane-workers-silent-killer-160606133827688.html
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1127102553
