Haunted by the mystery deaths in Nicaragua’s brutal sugarcane fields
by Robin McKie Observer science editor from on (#2GAPB)
Kidney disease has killed 20,000 agricultural workers, but no one knows why
Two brothers stand in a dusty alley in the town of Chichigalpa in Nicaragua. They stare with suspicion at Australian photographer Josh Mcdonald, who has just captured their image - a picture that won a Wellcome Image award last week for its depiction of the impact of a medical condition that has been devastating the male population of central America.
The illness is described as "chronic kidney disease of undetermined cause" and it is responsible for 75% of deaths of young and middle-aged men in Nicaragua. Workers in the sugarcane industry are worst affected, and the disease has been destroying families and communities for 20 years. Yet the cause remains unknown.
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