Jose Salvador Alvarenga, fisherman lost in Pacific Ocean for a year, goes back to the hospital

Medical professionals are following Jose Salvador Alvarenga, the fisherman who was adrift for over a year in the Pacific Ocean. They are accessing his health at a Marshall Islands hospital.

According to Reuters, Thomas Armbruster, the U.S. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands, told the media that Alvarenga had planned a one-day fishing expedition, but was taken off course by winds.

Police boats recently took him to Majuro. He is currently suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. Signs are currently evident. Experts say the average someone can survive without water is about 100 hours (approximately four days) without water. The average that someone can survive without food is five or six weeks. According to the Associated Press, Claude Piantadosi, a professor of medicine at Duke University and author of the book The Biology of Human Survival said, “It's unusual to say the least. But reports out of Mexico indicate he did go missing in late 2012. As we have gotten more information, it's probably likely that he did survive at sea for 13 months.”

They are still gaining information from his family in El Salvador.

Image: Wikimedia Commons