–Doctor sent to North West to address cross-border surge in patients seeking medical attention

FOLLOWING reports that a large number of Venezuelans have been converging on the North-West District village of White Water in search of malaria treatment, a medical doctor has since been permanently assigned to the health centre there.
The village’s Toshao, Mr Cleveland De Souza, told the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday that during a visit to the community on Sunday to assess the situation, the Regional Health Officer (RHO) found that the health centre was being manned by just a community health worker.

It was at this point, DeSouza said, that the RHO informed village officials that a doctor will be stationed in the community, given the growing number of people with malaria who have been turning up at the health facility from Venezuela seeking treatment for the disease.
DeSouza said the doctor started working on Monday of this week, and immediately attended to patients at the Region One (Barima/Waini) health facility, where several women with children were awaiting their turn to see the doctor.
This newspaper reported on Sunday that in recent months, the number of patients who crossed the Amacuro River from Venezuela for treatment at White Water has risen dramatically since March this year.

Close to 200 persons are treated on a weekly basis for malaria in the village as medical supplies in the Bolivarian Republic dwindle.
On August 15 this year, the international news agency, Al Jazeera reported that malaria infections have been spreading in the crisis-ridden Bolivarian Republic, where 18 of Venezuela’s 23 states are experiencing an outbreak.

According to the report, Marianella Herrera, Director of the Venezuelan Health Observatory, warned that neighbouring countries may be at risk of infection, if proper preventative measures are not taken soon, as desperate Venezuelans will seek to cross the borders in search of “medical attention and medicines that are not available in Venezuela.”
Guyana’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, told the Guyana Chronicle last weekend that there has been a surge in number of malaria cases reported in the area, but that the authorities have the situation under control.

According to Dr. Persaud, the treatment supplies were running low at one point but the situation has since been stabilised.
“We have to ensure that everyone takes all the necessary treatment,” Persaud said, adding that persons from across the border would be taking whatever steps necessary to rid themselves of the ailment.

Dr Persaud said there are also reports of a measles outbreak in Venezuela, and that while he was not sure of the exact locations, whether those cases were at the border with Guyana or not, the local health authorities are responding to ensure that Guyanese have the necessary treatment through immunisation.