- http://www.publicintegrity.org/health/mystery-fields
- http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/09/17/10923/video-mystery-fields
- http://www.publicintegrity.org/node/10916
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Reporter: Sasha Chavkin Photographer/videographer: Anna Barry-Jester Web team: Christine Montgomery, Paul Williams, Sarah Whitmire Fact-checking: Peter Newbatt Smith Project Editor: Ronnie Greene
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
September 17, 18 & 19, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Sri Lankan rice farmer Wimal Rajaratna, Indian coconut farmer Laxmi Narayna and Nicaraguan sugarcane worker Maudiel Martinez, laboring anonymously in impoverished villages continents apart, have given their sweat to put food on their families’ tables. Now, each of these men is confronted by the same deadly mystery: Their kidneys are failing, and no one knows why. From northern Sri Lanka to the east coast of India to a 700-mile stretch along the Pacific Coast of Central America, a mysterious form of chronic kidney disease — CKD — has emerged as one of the leading causes of death among working age men. In each region, the disease follows the same rare pattern: It primarily affects agricultural workers and damages a part of the kidney not consistent with the most common causes of CKD, diabetes and hypertension. Instead, scientists suspect poisoning through an unknown toxic exposure. In Mystery in the Fields, a three-part series built from ground-level reporting in disparate pockets of the globe, The Center for Public Integrity was the first to connect these deadly epidemics — and to raise the alarm that this new form of kidney disease poses a growing international threat to rural workers. The Center’s report revealed that tens of thousands worldwide have died from the illness, and, for the first time, laid out the striking commonalities bonding the affected areas.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
The Center filed FOIA requests seeking correspondence from U.S.-based agencies, including Health and Human Services and the World Bank. We examined medical research and studies in Central America, Sri Lanka and India. We scrutinized World Health Organization mortality statistics and other data. Combined, these public records and medical literature helped form an important backdrop for our groundbreaking look into the mysterious kidney disease killing laborers across continents.
Explain types of human sources used.
While scientific studies and literature formed a backdrop of our work, human sources were the heart. Our journalists traveled to Sri Lanka, India and Central America, interviewing workers afflicted by CKD. We visited local hospitals in multiple countries, cataloguing the human toll of this disease and interviewing doctors and medical experts about its causes. We reached out to government officials from the U.S. to Sri Lanka, pressing them for answers on why they have yet to find a definitive cause for this disease. We interviewed health advocates pushing for greater attention to this rare form of CKD, and owners of plantations and other businesses where workers were impacted.
Results:
The Sri Lankan government has pledged to take action to reduce farmers’ exposure to potentially tainted agrochemicals. In a November speech laying out his proposed 2013 budget, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa cited concerns about CKD and vowed to enact new regulations to impose higher quality control on pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Our reporting has also stirred new interest in this elusive killer. In November, a CKD conference in Costa Rica included a scientist from Sri Lanka — marking the first time scientists from different regions met to compare their experiences firsthand. This spring, two Swedish scientists who had focused on Central America will travel to India and Sri Lanka. The hunt for the cause moves ahead, but now with renewed vigor. “There’s a need to connect all the dots between these different outbreaks,” said Dr. Ajay Singh, a Harvard Medical School nephrologist leading a study of the epidemic in India.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Go there. The power of this story is in the human toll of this puzzling disease. In words, pictures and videography, we told this story through the laborers whose sweat equity puts food on the table — but who now suffer a debilitating disease that the medical and governmental communities have yet to fully tackle. Raise questions. While putting the spotlight on this medical mystery, we also put the spotlight on powerful institutions, from governments to agri-business owners, pressing them for answers to explain a disease still not fully understood. Read the fine print. We scrutinized scores of medical statistics, government records and company studies to gain a fuller picture of a disease ravaging anonymous workers across continents. The fine print can help bring to life a largely ignored story.