Measles attacks Yanomami Indians between Brazil and Venezuela

Brazil.- The community of natives Yanomamis on the border between Brazil and Venezuela is attacked by a focus of measles with 67 cases and the death of one baby, reported Brazilian health sources.

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Of the total infected by Measles 60 are Venezuelan, said Manoel Pereira, Technical Director Immunization Program and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Special Native Sanitary District Yanomami of Brazil

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Authorities investigate nine other cases of measles suspicion. Until now, the only death recorded among Indians is that of a nine-month-old Brazilian baby, said Pereira during a telephone interview with AFP.

In Venezuela, there is a lack of medical assistance, especially vaccination, a situation that has lasted for years. People affected by measles are seeking help in Brazil, spreading the virus, explained Pereira.

The disease mainly attacks Sanuma, a subgroup of the Yanomami ethnic group living in the border area. An estimated 3,873 Aboriginal people live in the area with the highest number of reported cases.

Sarah Shenker, Senior Research Scientist at the Human Rights Organization Survival International, told AFP that spokespeople related to indigenous people reported deaths apparently related to case of measles in Venezuelan territory.

"This epidemic could be catastrophic for the Yanomami " the researcher added, and urged "the Venezuelan and Brazilian governments to offer urgent medical care to prevent more deaths and protecting Yanomami lands from the invaders are the only way (…) to guarantee their survival. "

Cases were recorded between March and June. Although this Saturday marks 34 days without notifications, Pereira stressed that this does not mean that the situation is controlled.

Brazil – where vaccination is permanent and not seasonal – was certified in 2016 for the eradication of measles, but this year the disease rebounded . The Ministry of Health has confirmed an outbreak in the states of Amazonas and Roraima, in the north of the country. As of June 20, 463 cases have been confirmed (200 in Roraima, including natives, and 263 in Amazonas).

In addition to the baby Yanomami, regional authorities confirmed that three Venezuelan non-indigenous men died of measles in Roraima, a state bordering Venezuela and the main recipient of the country's increasing flow of migrants.

Brazilian health authorities can not enter Venezuelan territory to provide medical support for the break-up of binational agreements after the discrepancies between the Nicolás Maduro and Michel Temer governments, making it difficult to analysis of the situation in Venezuela.

Not only is measles, but also other diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis and pneumonia, Pereira said.

Indians take long walks to Brazil, he said Pereira . "They arrive in a serious condition, they report that the situation is very complicated, there is pneumonia, malaria, measles and leishmaniasis, they say that there are a lot of deaths, but these are stories verbal, we do not need concrete data. he added.

According to laboratory studies, the strain of measles virus in northern Brazil is the same as that of Venezuela, which is undergoing a severe political and economic crisis characterized by severe food shortages, commodities and drugs.

Measles is a contagious, respiratory disease caused by a virus. Red spots on the skin, fever, cough and conjunctivitis are some of the symptoms.