The Return Of Hookworm And The Limits Of Public Health Philanthropy
There’s been no shortage of news stories over the last several months that delivered a punch to the gut of our national self-regard, challenging Whiggish notions of moral progression that still color some of our deepest beliefs about the United States and its place in the world. But a recent article in the Guardian landed a blow that fell particularly hard.
“Hookworm, a disease of extreme poverty, is thriving in the US South,” the headline read. It featured a study, conducted by the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise, of residents of Lowndes County, Alabama, that found that more than a third of those sampled tested positive for traces of hookworm. Admittedly, the study is limited, relying on a small sample size (the researchers are preparing for a larger study). But hookworm, a parasite that latches onto the small intestine, and which can result in iron deficiency, anemia, lethargy and impaired mental function (especially in children), was thought to have been nearly wiped out in the US over the last century. Methodological quibbles don’t feel very reassuring. . .