UN Says Panama Mystery
Disease is Malnutrition
Reuters - The U.N. has
dismissed Panama's
claims it is fighting a
mystery respiratory
illness that has killed
at least 10 people,
saying the deaths are
linked to malnutrition.
The head of UNICEF in
Panama, Fernando Carrera,
said on Friday that the
illness, which local
media have reported may
have killed up to 50
people in the last two
months, is a direct
result of poverty among
Panama's indigenous
population.
Panama says
epidemiologists are
investigating an unknown
adenovirus -- or
respiratory virus --
that has hospitalized at
least 67 people in the
province of Ngobe Bugle,
near Panama's border
with Costa Rica.
The illness has
primarily affected
children between 2 and 4
years old, with symptoms
including headaches,
fever and breathing
difficulties.
"These children have
likely died because of a
combination of poor
nutrition and the
infection," said Carrera,
"There is a virus, but
it is not something
rare. It is a virus that
is known and that occurs
each winter in the
mountains."
According to Carrera the
death rate, based on
government figures, is
unlikely to vary greatly
from previous years.
The government has been
criticized for its
handling of the case and
is facing questions
about how a country with
one of the fastest
growing economies in
Latin America continues
to experience such high
levels of poverty.
"The indigenous
population has always
been abandoned by the
government" said
opposition lawmaker,
Enrique Garrido,
"Bolivia strongly backs
its indigenous groups,
why can Panama not do
the same?" |
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