CKDnT: a fatal epidemic

CKDnT is a fatal progressive loss of kidney function that has killed more than 20,000 people in a single decade in Central America alone.[ref]Ramirez-Rubio O, McClean MD, Amador JJ, Brooks DR. “An epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Central America: an overview” Postgraduate Medical Journal. March 2013 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23417684 (not open access)[/ref] With over 20,000 more dead in Sri Lanka,[ref]Jayasumana C, Gunatilake S, Senanayake P. “Glyphosate, hard water and nephrotoxic metals: are they the culprits behind the epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology in Sri Lanka?” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. February 2014. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945589/pdf/ijerph-11-02125.pdf (open access)[/ref] and uncounted more in other regions. While Ebola has killed around 14,000 since its discovery in 1976, receiving billions in resources, CKDnT has killed many times more, but has received insufficient funding with which to confront a dire public and occupational health crisis affecting many times more people.

La Isla Network is working to understand the scale and scope of the disease in other impacted regions via the DEGREE initiative, improving access to care with local colleagues, and creating effective and scalable workplace interventions with the WE Program and now with Adelante Initiative.

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