Puerto Rico is a U.S territory in the Caribbean, and children there are nearly 300 percent more likely to have the respiratory condition, asthma, than white non-Hispanic children in the continental United States. And shockingly still this year, Puerto Rico has seen a jump in asthma cases, which health officials believe could be linked to the heavy rains that have unleashed millions of spores.
The island, which has a population of 4 million, already has 2.5 times the death rate that stems from asthma as the mainland. Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. also have been hit hard by asthma, with an asthma attack rate 2.5 times higher than for white people in the same area.
Another issue that is adding to the problem is that Puerto Rican children do not seem to respond as well as those from other ethnic groups to the number one medication prescribed to asthmatics: Albuterol, which comes in an inhaler used to relieve sudden attacks. Due to this, several major pharmaceutical companies are trying to come up with an alternative medication, but they are still years away from doing so.
No-one really knows for certain why Puerto Ricans suffer so much more from asthma than other races and nationalities, despite decades of research. There are a number of theories including volcanic ash that drifts in from nearby Montserrat, clouds of Sahara dust covering the city in the summer and fungi that come with the tropical humidity. This was particularly bad this year, as it was the wettest on record. Some researchers suspect poverty and the fact that tens of thousands of people live in public housing projects with mice and cockroaches, known to be asthma triggers.