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Weavers' villages in India suffer TB epidemic, exacerbated by poverty and malnutrition
• LOHATA, India (AP) -- This cluster of poor villages, long known for its colorful silk saris, now is known for something else: tuberculosis. Nearly half of Lohata's population has it -- some 100,000 people -- and the community's weaving tradition is part of the reason it is on the front line of a major Indian health crisis.
• The area of Uttar Pradesh state is under unofficial quarantine because of the epidemic. Strangers rarely venture into these villages outside the ancient city of Varanasi. Even rickshaw drivers refuse to enter, turning away the few passengers looking for a lift.
• The high rate of TB cases in Lohata is unusual, even for India, where the disease kills about 300,000 people every year. Poverty and malnutrition are factors, but the fact that so many people in Lohata are weavers also is significant, said Dr. J.N. Banavalikar, vice chairman of the TB Association of India, a government agency.
• Thousands of sari weavers work all day in cramped rooms, breathing in minute threads that weaken their lungs and make them more susceptible. "They work in poorly ventilated rooms for hours, and that spreads germs very fast," Banavalikar said.
• India has made important strides in health in recent years, most recently by launching a successful polio vaccination campaign. But tuberculosis has remained a stubborn problem in India, which has more than a quarter of the world's new TB cases.
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For many elderly people, retirement in Puerto Rico far from idyllic
• SAN GERMAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Maxi Fajardo smiles as she recalls moving to New York City from Puerto Rico in her late teens, falling in love, finding a job at the Chiclets factory and raising four children.
• Her goal all along, like that of many Puerto Ricans, was to work in the United States and then retire to her sun-dappled island, living her final years worry-free surrounded by family and friends. "The dream is always to return to your country," said the elegant 82-year-old who settled in Puerto Rico in 1992 along with her husband Florencio, a former subway conductor.
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