Health security

A Mysterious Epidemic Plaguing Central America May Be Linked To Climate Change

A mysterious disease has been sweeping through the sugar cane fields of Central America, with more than 20,000 laborers dying from it over the past decade. As of 2012, it had killed the husbands of more than 100 women of the 250 families living on one island in Nicaragua, giving rise to the grim nickname “Island of the Widows.”

“Chronic Kidney Disease of nontraditional causes,” as researchers have called the condition, attacks the kidneys and prevents the body from eliminating waste and excess fluid. As the name suggests, no one really knows what causes it. A new report, however, shows that researchers may be getting closer to an answer. And there are signs that a solution, too, could be close at hand.