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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Long-eradicated diphtheria reappears in Venezuela; government blames the CIA |
| 2016-10-23 |
| [LATINO.FOXNEWS] Diphtheria, an extremely contagious disease that has been mostly eradicated worldwide through vaccination, has reappeared in Venezuela. So far it has killed four children. More than 20 cases have been reported in just one month, including those four fatalities in the southern state of Bolivar. In the crisis-stricken South American nation, many of the children don't have access to the DPT vaccine that prevents the centuries-old disease. Caused by the Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacterium, the disease becomes serious if the bacterial toxin enters the bloodstream and spreads through the respiratory tract. It leads to heart failure and neurological illnesses. Even with treatment, death occurs in between 5 and 10 percent of those affected. This week the sense of urgency went up a few notches when a possible case of diphtheria was reported in Caracas’ Military Hospital, considered the country’s best. Uncertainty has become commonplace in Venezuelan epidemiology. The reappearance of diphtheria, a disease not seen here in more than 20 years, is the worst symptom yet of the country’s broken health system. Venezuela used to be Latin America's richest country, but it is now falling apart as a plunge in the price of oil caps off years of economic mismanagement. Local production of almost everything has stalled, and there is little money to import medicine. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 they would be on MoveOn, MSNBC, Oprah's channl |
| Posted by: Frank G 2016-10-23 20:13 |
| #6 Is there anybody here who is not Heinlein fan? Theoretically there must be someone, g(r)omgoru, but the thought is good enough that one needn't be a fan to appreciate it. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2016-10-23 18:50 |
| #5 #4 - Heh |
| Posted by: Frank G 2016-10-23 10:23 |
| #4 Finally, something they won't run out of! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2016-10-23 10:06 |
| #3 They don't blame Chavez and his parrot(s)? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2016-10-23 08:37 |
| #2 Is there anybody here who is not Heinlein fan? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-10-23 04:22 |
| #1 "Bad Luck" |
| Posted by: Nguard 2016-10-23 00:51 |