Diet and disease: transgressing boundaries between science and society--understanding neglected diseases through the lens of cultural studies and anthropology

It is vital that we consider human health from all perspectives, including the social, geopolitical and cultural aspects of wider society. A prime example of how such forces complicate patterns of disease is provided by examining the underlying epidemiology of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer (CCA)) in Thailand. With high prevalence in the northeast of Thailand (Isan) and most rural communities along the Mekong River in Southeast Asia, CCA in this region of the world results from a neglected tropical disease, chronic liver fluke infection, caused by consuming raw or undercooked freshwater fish infected with Opisthorchis viverrini (liver fluke) sensu lato. Although the relationship between diet and disease is common knowledge in the general population along the Mekong River, the cultural and sociological facets of dietary practice point to challenges that cannot be addressed by science alone. Untangling the CCA epidemic from the complex human behaviour of wanting to eat...
Source: Medical Humanities - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Open access Editorial Source Type: research