PHA-Exchange> Epidemic of chronic renal insufficiency in agricultual workers

[Laura Turiano]

I am supporting the work of the Fondo Social de Emergencia de Salud in Jiquilisco, El Salvador. They are investigating the cause(s) of an epidemic of chronic renal insufficiency in the communities they represent, and which seems to be occurring throughout the coastal zones of Mexico and Central America. The areas affected are either formerly or currently sites of large agroexport plantations of crops such as sugar, cotton, or bananas, and it is suspected that exposure to chemicals used in agricultural production, and chemical contamination of the water supply, underly the high rates of renal failure. 

In Jiquilisco, an area with a population of 12,000 to 15,000 people, chronic renal insufficiency is the leading cause of death among adults, men being overwhelmingly affected. 35-40% of men over 40 have either proteinuria and/or elevated serum creatinine. In 2005, 23 people died of CRI, and at least 12 have died so far this year. The Health Ministry of El Salvador offers virtually no treatment for these people. 

I am send this email hoping to identify other countries where this is occuring and any epidemiological studies that have been done that might help us arrive at a more specific cause. I have some studies in Spanish done by a Salvadoran nephrologist working with the Fondo that compare coastal communites with mountain communities in several Central American countries that I can share with you if interested.

Thank you!

*******************************************
Laura Turiano, MS, PA-C
Right to Health Campaign
People's Health Movement - US Circle
Oakland, California
phm at turiano.org
http://www.phm-usa.org/
*************************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20060724/eb67597c/attachment-0001.html>