Disease of living styleA case study of parasite disease and rural environment in Pingtung

region

Michael Shiyung LiuAcademia Sinica

The Kaoping Valley

Disease and lifestyle

• Certain type of illness could link to specific causation of living style

• Kaoping River has been polluted by various forms– human waste, – wastewater from animal husbandry (piggery,

cattle, and fowl)– urban rubbish, and industrial hazard etc.

Water supply, hygiene and disease

• Epidemiologist Bradley’s classification–Water-borne - caused through consumption of

contaminated–Water-washed - caused through the use of inadequate

volumes for personal hygiene–Water-based - where an intermediate aquatic host is

required–Water-related vector - spread through insect vectors

associated with water• “Water-caused” diseases

Ratio of water-caused diseases in Kaoping valley

y = 0.3303x + 22.548R2 = 0.147

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Years

Perc

enta

ge o

f all

caus

es o

f dea

th

diseases

Water-caused disease in Kaoping Valley

• Among all “water-caused” diseases, based on public health surveys in the 1920s and 30s

• The gross morbidity rate of parasite-related diseases was 18 per cent

• To the causes of death, gastroenteritis was the most important cause of death among the infant and child (ages 0 to 4) mortality problem

Agricultural and early urban diseases(1920s-30s)

• Fishery ports and market-towns appeared in the downstream of Kaoping Valley– Urbanization since the 1930s– urban population increased nearly double animal

husbandry• Bringing so many animals into urban

proximity they created conditions were epidemic diseases might – and often did – spread rapidly

Ligang: A market-town in midstream

• The crisis in the region's irrigation systems in the wake of the 1930s urbanization was directly tied to the simultaneous increase in many parasite problems.– Malaria, paratyphoid and dengue fever

Dengue fever on Nichinich shinpoDate Range Ligang Note

1915/7/14-11/9 South unknown Expended to North in August

1918/7/14 Middle & South identified Spanish flu invaded

1920/11/26 North N/A

1922/9/1 South identified Endemic cases

1923/4/16 South identified Endemic cases

1924/5/5-10/24 islandwide identified Server outbreak

1926/9/18-10/26 South identified Endemic cases

1931/8/8-10/6 islandwide identified Server outbreak

1936/7/28 South identified Endemic cases

1942/9/10 islandwide identified Server outbreak

Cases of paratyphoid and dengue fever (Ligang, 1920-1940)

0

50

100

150

200

250

Years

head

/cas

e

Animal population Paratyphoid Dengue Fever

Post-WWII development

• Certain disease such as Amebiasis indicate the distance between farmer and livestock was very close, especially in the cycle of food-chain

• The debate of water pollution in the Kaoping River rise since late-1970s, and in the 80s the debate evolves to series of violent demonstrations till the early 21st century.– The deterioration of water quality links to

• bio-waste and chemical pollutants

Animal husbandry in Kaoping Valley

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

Year

per h

ead

cattles pigs goat fowl

Animal husbandry and bio waste

Distribution of piggery in Kaoping Valley (1997-2002)

A piggery and untreated waste water

Question

• With growth of animal husbandry and regional population, the morbidity rate of enterogastritis however shows a decline trend between 1960s and 1990s– DDT spraying project from 1953 through 1957– deterioration of water quality since the 1970s• 64.5% from piggery, 20.7% Industrial waste, 13.2

household waste, and 1.6 city rubbish

Ratio between numbers of manufacture and agricultural-related business

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Years

Rat

io (%

)

Manufacture Agricultural-related

Life rubbish dumped in Ligang area

Documentary of Pollution in Kaoping Valley

Concluding remarks1961

46.26%

39.11%

14.63%

infectious disease chronic illness others

1971

45.64%

40.72%

13.64%

infectious disease chronic illness others

1981

42.58%

43.16%

14.26%

infectious disease chronic illness others

1991

39.98%

43.95%

16.07%

infectious disease chronic illness others

2001

36.22%

42.92%

20.86%

infectious disease chronic illness others