Guatemala Prepares for Spread of Cholera Deborah Tyroler
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository NotiCen Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) 8-2-1991 Guatemala Prepares For Spread Of Cholera Deborah Tyroler Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen Recommended Citation Tyroler, Deborah. "Guatemala Prepares For Spread Of Cholera." (1991). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen/5825 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in NotiCen by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LADB Article Id: 065752 ISSN: 1089-1560 Guatemala Prepares For Spread Of Cholera by Deborah Tyroler Category/Department: General Published: Friday, August 2, 1991 July 27: Deputy economy minister Carlos Tercero Muxi said measures were being taken to prevent contamination by cholera of export goods, particularly perishable food products. July 28: The Health Ministry has received $72,000 worth of medical supplies for rehydration of cholera victims from the People's Republic of China, the US, and the UN Children's Fund. July 29: Health Ministry spokespersons declared a "red alert" along the Mexican border. Deputy health minister Edgar Figueroa reported Guatemala's cholera victim fatality. The six-year-old boy died July 22 in Cerritos, Ocos district, San Marcos department. The child's mother said he contracted the disease by eating contaminated shrimp. Figueroa said the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) had confirmed four more cases of cholera in San Marcos and Retalhuleu. The deputy minister said local physicians are awaiting test results on two other residents of the same area. Another 53 persons displaying cholera symptoms were placed under quarantine at the Coatepeque hospital in Quetzaltenango department. Hospital director Marco Antonio Zenteno said most patients were from the Rio Suchiate region. [The river serves as a border between Mexico and Guatemala.] A physician employed at the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) told local reporters on condition of anonymity that the Health Ministry was deflating cholera figures to avoid mass hysteria and to protect export markets. The physician said the Rio Suchiate in San Marcos department and the Rio Naranjo were both contaminated with cholera. The physician claimed over 70 hospital patients are suspected of having contracted cholera, and six cases of the disease had been confirmed. Local news reports indicated that two children died of cholera in Antigua, and two women died of the disease in Jutiapa department. July 30: Health Minister Miguel Angel Montepeque said seven cases, all in Coatepeque, had been confirmed, and that 53 persons were under observation. He denied reports claiming seven cholera fatalities. According to Montepeque, five of the reported cholera deaths were not caused by cholera, but rather by acute diarrhea. He said the five included the child in San Marcos department. The minister pointed out that diarrhea kills thousands of Guatemalan children every year. Montepeque said health officials were concerned about contaminated water from Mexican banana plantations flowing into the Suchiate river. Guatemalan Red Cross worker Edgar Murillo said the seven confirmed cases of cholera were "agricultural workers working in Mexico who returned to the country after contracting the disease." Fourteen more persons displaying cholera symptoms were admitted to the Coatepeque hospital. National Health Workers Union leader Armando Augusto Valdez told reporters that the government is not equipped to deal with the cholera epidemic. He said hospital budgets were wholly inadequate, and shortages of medicines, beds and other equipment are commonplace. The union leader said hospitals in Totonicapan, located in the highlands, and in Antigua were sterilizing medical instruments in clay pots. Valdez noted that "more cases of cholera are reported every day...Most of the patients are poor residents of marginal areas and are unable to fight the disease." He also charged the government with deflating the number of cholera victims. July 31: Health Minister Montepeque said that President Jorge Serrano declared a national health emergency, effective Aug. 1. He said that if cholera expands to epidemic proportions as occurred in Peru (defined as 700,000 disease victims), the nation's health care infrastructure would be overloaded. The minister called for international assistance. According to a UN Development Programme study, over 33% of Guatemalans lack access to safe drinking ©2011 The University of New Mexico, Latin American & Iberian Institute. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 2 LADB Article Id: 065752 ISSN: 1089-1560 water, 40% have no access to health services, and 63% of the rural population do not have latrines. The doctor/patient ratio is one to 1,000. In Coatepeque, 61% of residents have no access to safe drinking water. (Basic data from AFP, 07/29/91, 07/30/91; ACAN-EFE, 07/27-31/91; EFE, 07/30/91) -- End -- ©2011 The University of New Mexico, Latin American & Iberian Institute. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 2.