Alert in the Amazons due to Tuberculosis

Also available in: Español

Source: HSB Noticias

The Ombudsman led a humanitarian visit in the department of Amazonas, Colombia, where news was known of a possible spread of a tuberculosis outbreak within the indigenous communities.

According to the Ombudsman, Alfonso Cajiao Cabrera, the situation becomes more serious due to the challenging health conditions of this population.

The Ombudsman visited the municipality of Puerto Nariño, where doctors have warned of 51 TB cases reported in recent weeks. The figure is considerably higher to that of last year, where only 7 cases were identified in the course of 12 months.

In this regard, also of high concern is the fact that there have been 18 cases reported in children and adolescents, a situation that doctors consider could be aggravated due to malnutrition in some of the cases.

Against this background, the Ombudsman called on the National Government through the Ministry of Health aiming to reinforce the work that the Government of Amazonas has been conducting, with support from the National University, in order to prevent this situation to spread and turn into an epidemic with extensive deadly consequences for the population.

The call of the Ombudsman becomes even more critical as indigenous people only seek medical care when the person is in a very advanced stage of the disease.