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https://www.rt.com/usa/446877-alabama-hookwarm-infection-video/
Hookworm, a blood-sucking parasite thought eradicated in the US in the last century, is now seeing a resurgence in Alabama. In the Now explains how wealth inequality and racism put the state on par with countries like Honduras.
Lowndes County is part of Alabama’s so-called Black Belt, a name reflecting its majority population and dark soil. The soil has clay-like properties and cannot absorb water very well. It means special septic systems need to be installed there to treat sewage. Spending some $10,000 on such a system in a country where a third of people live in poverty is not an option for many households, so they often get a regular system that is twice cheaper. Unfortunately, such septics clog and overflow in rain, resulting in literal cesspools forming in people’s backyards.
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What a charming image of rural Alabama. They may not have Jim Crow any more but instead they have hookworm.
Having lived for many years in rural areas of NJ where city sewage was not available, septic systems (septic tanks coupled to drainage fields) are a way of life. But I still would not want my kids sledding on the septic mound in winter. I had a Siamese kitten once, the runt of the litter, and it had dermal hookworm that needed constant attention until a veterinarian diagnosed the problem as being a dietary deficiency of a vitamin.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookworm
Hookworm, a blood-sucking parasite thought eradicated in the US in the last century, is now seeing a resurgence in Alabama. In the Now explains how wealth inequality and racism put the state on par with countries like Honduras.
Lowndes County is part of Alabama’s so-called Black Belt, a name reflecting its majority population and dark soil. The soil has clay-like properties and cannot absorb water very well. It means special septic systems need to be installed there to treat sewage. Spending some $10,000 on such a system in a country where a third of people live in poverty is not an option for many households, so they often get a regular system that is twice cheaper. Unfortunately, such septics clog and overflow in rain, resulting in literal cesspools forming in people’s backyards.
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What a charming image of rural Alabama. They may not have Jim Crow any more but instead they have hookworm.
Having lived for many years in rural areas of NJ where city sewage was not available, septic systems (septic tanks coupled to drainage fields) are a way of life. But I still would not want my kids sledding on the septic mound in winter. I had a Siamese kitten once, the runt of the litter, and it had dermal hookworm that needed constant attention until a veterinarian diagnosed the problem as being a dietary deficiency of a vitamin.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookworm