Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Pestilence

Nigeria cholera deaths spike more than tenfold over 2017 - UPI
UPI  reports: "There have been 1,110 documented cholera deaths in 2018, more than 13 times higher than cholera deaths in the same time period in 2017, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control said Wednesday. [...] Cholera is a bacterial intestinal infection spread by contaminated drinking water or food. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, circulatory collapse and shock, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says."

Comment: The tragedy of cholera is that the disease is easily prevented and easily treated but it requires a certain level of development to do so. As such it is a far better measure of development than commonly used economic indicators like GDP. A country that has cholera outbreaks is not developed, no matter how much oil it may sell. 

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