What is CKDu?

Chronic kidney diseases of uncertain etiology (CKDu) describes a pattern of chronic kidney disease not explained by traditional risk factors, appearing endemic to some rural agricultural communities along the Pacific Coast of Mesoamerica and in specific regions of Sri Lanka and India. This disease appears to be most prevalent in field workers in hot and humid climates, but it is not entirely restricted to agriculture work. CKDu predominantly affects male individuals in their third to fourth decade of life with a low-grade or non-proteinuric nephropathy characterized by a progressively declining glomerular filtration rate.

CKDu has affected many communities where it exists and has overwhelmed health care systems in affected countries, causing unknown morbidity and tens of thousands of deaths over the last 20 years in Mesoamerica alone.