Yanomami Face Severe Liver Damage from Malaria and Lack of Medicines

Folha de S.Paulo

Yanomami Face Severe Liver Damage from Malaria and Lack of Medicines

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The severe cases of malaria are frequent in the region and have intensified in the last seven months, as noted by health professionals at the Hospital das Clinicas in Roraima. The unit is the entry point for the Yanomami transported by air from the indigenous land to Boa Vista, due to severe cases of malaria the HGR ( Roraima General Hospital) is then called in. What these professionals have noticed is a total lack of assistance at the other end, regarding the service in the territory, which allows for rapid evolution to serious cases, especially in the case of falciparum; severe damage to the liver of the natives, due to multiple and repeated bouts of malaria; cases of severe anemia, due to malaria and malnutrition; and occupation of ICUs by very serious cases. At the Roraima General Hospital, medicines for the treatment of malaria, such as chloroquine and primaquine, were out of stock for three months, due to an interruption in the supply by the federal government, during the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The information was confirmed to by the hospital's management, who said there had been a worsening of health conditions and deaths of indigenous people due to this interruption in supply. The health crisis in the Yanomami land is directly linked to the lack of assistance during the Bolsonaro government and the encouragement and connivance of the same government with the permanence of more than 20,000 prospectors who had invaded the territory. The mining has caused outbreaks of malaria among the indigenous people and an epidemic of severe malnutrition, especially among children and the elderly.