"For nearly a century, people have reported mysterious epidemics of permanent paralysis in rural regions of Africa. In 1990, Hans Rosling a Swedish epidemiologist and pop-star statistician, who died of pancreatic cancer earlier this month, linked the malady to cyanide in the staple crop, cassava.
But Rosling would protest if I told you that cassava causes this incurable disease he called konzo. The disease requires more than a poisonous plant. Namely, poverty, severe malnourishment, conflict and a lack of infrastructure – most affected areas are far away from markets, clinics and paved roads. "If you do not find the true cause, you do not act correctly," Rosling told me last September...."
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/23/515819034/poverty-plus-a-poisonous-plant-blamed-for-paralysis-in-rural-africa?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=world
"Konzo [1][2] is an epidemic paralytic disease occurring in outbreaks in remote rural areas of low income African countries. The people of these regions have been associated with several weeks of almost exclusive consumption of insufficiently processed "bitter" (high cyanide) cassava (Manihot esculenta)—a perennial crop native to Amazonia in South America, but widely cultivated in tropical regions worldwide. It is the third most important food source in the tropics after rice and maize and is the staple food of tropical Africa. Cassava yields well in poor soils, is drought-resistant, and the roots give food security during droughts and famine. Nutritionally, the starchy roots are complemented by consumption of cassava leaves, which are rich in proteins and vitamins.[3] Konzo was first described by Giovanni Trolli in 1938[4] who compiled the observations from eight doctors working in the Kwango area of the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)...."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konzo
"Konzo is a distinct neurological entity with selective upper motor neuron damage, characterized by an abrupt onset of an irreversible, non-progressive, and symmetrical spastic para/tetraparesis. Despite its severity, konzo remains a neglected disease. The disease is associated with high dietary cyanogen consumption from insufficiently processed roots of bitter cassava combined with a protein-deficient diet. Epidemics occur when these conditions coincide at times of severe food shortage. Up to 1993, outbreaks in poor rural areas in Africa contributed to more than 3,700 cases of konzo. The number of affected people is underestimated. From unofficial reports, the number of cases was estimated to be at least 100,000 in 2000, in contrast to the 6,788 cases reported up to 2009 from published papers...."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3125150/
"...Little known in the West, the paralytic disease konzo has inflicted polio-like symptoms on thousands of the most impoverished people in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other African countries.
Eating insufficiently processed cassava, which naturally contains cyanide, can lead to irreversible paralysis of the legs. Konzo leaves its victims dependent on others for their livelihood and forces them to use makeshift crutches or crawl in the dirt. ..."
https://www.globalhealthnow.org/2016-10/bitter-harvest-cassava-and-konzo-crippling-disease-0
HISTORY of EFFORTS TO HELP
"...In 2005, a retired chemist in Australia, Howard Bradbury, discovered a way to shorten the process from days to hours. He calls it “the wetting method.” People can pound the roots directly into flour, mix the flour with water, flatten the doughy mound, and dry it for 2 hours in the sun (Food Science & Nutrition, 2015). Bradbury has shown that his technique reduces cyanide in cassava flour by 3 to 6 fold. “When you mix the cassava flour with water an enzyme converts the cyanide compound into hydrogen cyanide gas, and the gas escapes from the flour into the air,” Bradbury explains...."
see
https://www.globalhealthnow.org/2016-10/bitter-harvest-cassava-and-konzo-crippling-disease-part-iii
MORE LINKS
SEE
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=konzo+review
here is an ORGANIZATION that PURPORTS TO HELP , & ACCEPTS DONATION (i don't know anything about them. They may be good, but always do research first before making a donation), see
https://anu.useed.net/projects/534/home
