Venezuela crisis risks spread of malaria, other diseases across region

The current humanitarian crisis in Venezuela threatens to provoke spikes of malaria and other potentially deadly insect-borne diseases both within the country and beyond its borders, a group of experts revealed in a study.
According to the study, published in medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Venezuela witnessed a 359 percent increase in malaria cases between 2000 and 2015. In 2017, the number of registered cases of malaria increased by 71 percent compared to 2016, totaling 411,586 cases. Neighboring countries, such as Brazil, have also reported an increase in malaria cases that were brought by insects from Venezuela — from 1,538 in 2014 to 3,129 in 2017.
The economic crisis and political instability in Venezuela has made it difficult to take preventive measures to control the population of disease-carrying mosquitoes. Researchers recalled that in 1961, Venezuela, according to the World Health Organization, became the first country to eradicate malaria.
The study also showed that Venezuela also faces an increased number of cases of Chagas disease, chikungunya and Zika.
“The re-emergence of many vector-borne diseases represents a public health crisis in Venezuela and has the possibility of severely undermining regional disease elimination efforts. National, regional, and global authorities must take action to address these worsening epidemics and prevent their expansion beyond Venezuelan borders,” the authors of the study said.
The situation in crisis-torn Venezuela escalated on January 23 when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president, disputing last year’s reelection of President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido was almost immediately recognized by the United States and some other countries, including Brazil. Russia, China, Mexico, among other nations, voiced support for Maduro, who, in turn, accused Washington of orchestrating a coup.
Earlier this week, Guaido issued his “presidential” decree number 001, which authorized the deliveries of humanitarian aid to Venezuela. The Venezuelan government headed by Maduro so far has refused to accept aid that the United States delivered to neighboring Colombia, blasting it as a ploy to topple his government. (UNI)