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konzo

konzo
 n.— «Cases of konzo, an incurable disabling disease associated with high food insecurity, were reported to be increasing in Bas-Congo, FAO said. In its latest DRC food security update, received by IRIN on Monday, FAO said that pressure caused by the economic crisis has led people in the area to reduce the number of days they soak locally-grown bitter cassava, which was insufficient to remove the high toxic cyanide content from the staple food before it was consumed.» —“DRC: Heavy casualties as fighting continues” IRIN Aug. 17, 1999. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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