Thread by @sashachavkin

New: Worker safety program slashes rates of deadly kidney disease afflicting sugarcane workers by half

Some good news about a lethal international epidemic, with lessons for Covid-19 (thread)

icij.org/investigations…

I've covered CKD among tropical workers for a decade now, and it's one of the most awful diseases I've seen - taking young, healthy workers from the poorest communities & draining the life out of them.

Its causes have baffled scientists for years...

icij.org/investigations…

But recently, growing evidence points to heat stress and dehydration as crucial factors in its development. In essence: agricultural laborers are working themselves to death.

Much of the world's sugar is imported from countries where this happens

icij.org/investigations…

Now, a new study shows that a worker safety program by @LaIslaNetwork based on the latest scientific evidence cut CKD among sugarcane workers by half, and by three quarters among those doing the riskiest type of job.

oem.bmj.com/content/early/…

Notably, the reductions occurred when the sugar mill actually followed the program's guidelines (at first it shared too little resources among too large a population).

But when science was followed w/o cutting corners & worker safety was prioritized, the results were dramatic

As we approach 90k Covid-19 deaths in the US, here's the lesson I take:

Even if we don't have all the answers, the science is clear on how we can save lives.

It's a question of having the will to follow it - and whose lives we consider worth saving.

icij.org/investigations…