How Illegal Gold Mining Relates To The Spread Of Malaria

NPR | By Shankar Vedantam

Published May 10, 2017 at 4:54 AM EDT

A person illegally pans for gold at a site in the Department of Choco near the city of Quibdo, Colombia, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016. According to Santiago Angel, head of the Colombian mining association, about 85 percent of the 59 tons of gold produced last year in Colombia comes from operations without government licenses or environmental permits.

Corrected: May 11, 2017 at 12:00 AM EDT

During this report, malaria is referred to as a virus. In fact, the disease is caused by a parasite.

Shankar Vedantam

Shankar Vedantam is the host and creator of Hidden Brain. The Hidden Brain podcast receives more than three million downloads per week. The Hidden Brain radio show is distributed by NPR and featured on nearly 400 public radio stations around the United States.

See stories by Shankar Vedantam

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