Mystery Disease in Central America, Thousands Dead [Video]
Starting in 2000, doctors on the Pacific Coasts of Nicaragua and Panama have noticed a new phenomena among field workers. It seems to be the same over and over again. The workers go to the doctor with acute kidney failure. Their bodies are flooded with toxins from their non-working kidneys. Some are put on dialysis, some medication. Within a few months their bodies, unable to take the assault by all the toxins, shut down and they die.
This is not a small population either. More than 24,000 have dies of the mystery disease since 2000. More than 150,000 have gotten sick. Researchers and health professionals are completely stumped. They have some ideas but nothing concrete.
Some health professionals are pointing out the similarities between everyone who has gotten sick. They are all manual laborers. Miners, farmers, field hands and shepherds. They work long hours outdoors and in intense heat, but outdoor manual labor is nothing new to Central America and is also very common throughout the world where there does not seem to be a rash of patients with kidney disease.
Some researchers are saying it could be repeated and sustained dehydration. There are others who say it could be exposure to some form of heavy metal in the environment, but no one knows for sure.
For some reason all the health workers are saying it doesn’t seem as if exposure to pesticides could be the culprit. Some of the people who are getting sick are in environments far from any pesticide.
There is a small link between the workers that seem to have worked for one of the country’s largest sugar conglomerates. The company started giving its employees electrolyte shakes and protein bars to keep them hydrated throughout the day, but even that seems small.
Healthcare workers are asking for international aid to keep the country’s health facilities going.
What do you think could be killing people in Central America?
Watch a video from the Huffington Post where biological weapons are suspected
