Kuala Koh
The Batek Flee the Pandemic
Last year, the Batek village of Kuala Koh became infected with a mysterious illness that ultimately killed 15 villagers and hospitalized over 100 others. The mystery illness turned out to be measles. Over a year after the height of that epidemic, the question for today is how are the people of the village reacting to […]
Review of the Batek Tragedy
The Guardian sent reporter Hannah Ellis-Petersen to Kuala Koh to investigate the tragedy that nearly destroyed the Batek village. Was it just an outbreak of measles that took down so many people starting about four months ago? Are the government analyses that it was just an outbreak of measles accurate or are officials covering up […]
Wrapping Up the Batek Measles Epidemic
Since the mystery illness that affected the Batek village of Kuala Koh was finally diagnosed as a measles epidemic several weeks ago, the flood of news stories in the Malaysian press has slowed to a trickle. A few of them provide helpful updates and useful insights, however. On June 24, the New Straits Times published […]
Batek Illness Becomes Deadly
Back in early April, reports came out about a mysterious illness that was afflicting the Batek of Kuala Koh: some young people were becoming sick and having breathing problems. The state health authorities in Kelantan attempted to provide cover for themselves by blaming the Batek for not being willing to take transportation to clinics to […]
Batek Knowledge of Medicinal Plants [journal article review]
The Batek are highly dependent on the diverse life forms that surround them, especially the forest plants that they use for medicinal purposes, and as a result they have accumulated a vast knowledge of local natural resources.
