Speaking to Lanka Leader newspaper, the researcher commented that Chronic Kidney Disease in agricultural communities, which was firstly observed in tropical countries in the mid-1990s, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

It particularly affected rice producers in Sri Lanka and India, and sugarcane producers in Central America, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, he emphasized.

According to the Sri Lankan newspaper, for more than 15 years, the cause of the disease remained unknown; however, between 2012 and 2016, a team of Sri Lankan researchers, led by Professor Channa Jayasumana, identified agrochemicals as the main reason.

The team prooved that these chemicals entered the body through contaminated drinking water, and that providing clean water could effectively control the disease.

Although initially controversial, the Sri Lankan experts’ findings were later validated by international studies. Based on this evidence, the Sri Lankan government launched a national program to install reverse osmosis filtration systems in high-risk areas, the newspaper explained.

Recent statistics from the Ministry of Health confirmed that the disease has been significantly reduced, and in recognition of this achievement, the University of Costa Rica invited Jayasumana to share Sri Lanka’s experience.

During his recent visit to the Central American country, the expert gave training seminars to doctors, academics, health officials, and students. This way Costa Rica hopes to take similar measures to effectively control the disease.

jdt/ro/lrd