Trench Fever
Trench Fever has been found in 7 organ donor recipients in Alberta
The origins of the Trench Fever come from organ donors who were houseless at the time of their death and transferred the infection to individuals who were the recipients of their organs.
“Trench Fever is easily preventable with access to proper hygiene and easily treatable with access to commonly distributed antibiotics.”
Trench Fever: “A rare bacterial infection caused by the bites of infected body lice.”
Risk Factors: Most common in people who are “socially disadvantaged” such as homeless people, or in areas that favor louse infestations like poverty, overcrowding, and displacement.
Socially Disadvantaged Definition: Socially disadvantaged individuals are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within [Canadian Society] because of their identities as members of groups and without regard to their individual qualities. The social disadvantage stems from circumstances beyond their control.
“Areas that favor louse infestation” is coded language for: Societal neglect, abandonment, indifference, social isolation, individualism, political negligence, racism, classism, colonialism.
Trench fever is endemic to: Eretria, Poland, Tunisia, the former Soviet Union, and Mexico.
Trench fever is endemic to: Neglected populations of people in Canada, the United States and other “first world” countries.
Trench fever is an infection most commonly associated with World War 1 and sometimes refugee camps. With conditions over 100 years ago that were bred by global warfare. And still we will deny the state of modern society. Still we will politicize human rights and dignity. Politicize reality and truth.
Trench Fever Synonyms. A language experiment.
Call it Neglect Fever, Turn Your Eyes Down Fever, Ignore Fever, Not my problem Fever, Survival of the Fittest Fever, Lazy Fever.
Trench Fever has been found in 7 organ donor recipients in Alberta
7 people, 7 bodies
that were forced to confront and embody societal negligence
Societies inequities have been transferred into these people
They live within their bodies in the most visceral physical way
We all inherit this story- they embody it
Did we even know they died? Do we know how their organs came to you?
How many people have died on the streets and transferred the physical remains of their bodies to someone who might not have ever looked into their eyes passing by?
They save our lives- giving and loving even in death
As we pay no heed
Now some of us embody this human
bare the brunt of the most vulnerable
They live within you
Their gift in death to give life and to share the tiniest part of their reality in body
We can’t look away now. These stories live within us. They live within you.
That in which we do not address will come to birth in our bodies
Forcing us to look
Forcing us to listen
Forcing us to feel
Forcing us to know
Forcing us to care
Body 1: Love. Our first and most important teaching for how we must conduct ourselves and relate to all other life on this planet.
Body 2: Humility. To know you are no more important than any life on this earth.
Body 3: Truth. Living in their truth. Sharing truth will lose you friends. Make you unpopular. Truth is sacred. Truth is power. Truth is Law.
Body 4: Courage. Summon the courage to share story. to speak truth.
Body 5: Respect. That in which we respect will take care of us. That in which we do not respect has the ability to poison.
Body 6: Wisdom. Amik is wise. Amik directly alters their environment to make the life around them healthy.
Body 7: Honesty. To be honest with yourself is to interact with reality, to heal collective wounds.
7 bodies.
For would we have known about Trench fever if it wasn’t for your body?
The ills of society seep into our spirits- now they have seeped into body
And we’ve always given more creed to physical realities anyways
Now it’s visible in a way these fallible feeble brains can latch onto
Trench Fever complete with the gift of life
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