Mysterious epidemic kills thousands of workers in El Salvador and Nicaragua, health chiefs say

A mysterious epidemic is devastating the Pacific coast of Central America, killing more than 24,000 people in El Salvador and Nicaragua since 2000 and striking thousands of others with chronic kidney disease at rates unseen virtually anywhere else.

Scientists say they have received reports of the phenomenon as far north as southern Mexico and as far south as Panama.

Last year it reached the point where El Salvador's health minister, María Isabel Rodríguez, appealed for international help, saying the epidemic was undermining health systems.

Source: Associated Press