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The medical situation in
Peru is dire . . .
The confluence of worm infestations,
resistant strains of Malaria, Tuberculosis, Gonorrhea, HIV/AIDS and Leishmaniasis, together with the gathering storm represented
by the H5N1 Avian flu virus, threaten an impending crisis of unprecedented proportions - a crisis that
may well decimate the population in Peru, and reduce it to economic ruin.
In the hinterlands, up in the high sierra mountains of
the Andes, or down the eastern slopes to the selvas (jungles) of the Amazon basin, piped water is virtually non-existent in
many areas. Sanitation is a big issue. Garbage and refuse lies
scattered everywhere, mixed in with animal dung, raw sewage and wastewater issuing from the adobe huts. Mosquitoes and flies
are everywhere, and mosquito-borne diseases are endemic. Flies contaminate food with bacteria causing dysentery, cholera and
typhoid.
Consequently, the toll on the
young and the elderly is unacceptably high, with an infant mortality rate of 24 per thousand, a below-5 mortality rate of
18 per thousand, and a life expectancy at birth of 66 years. In addition, 25% of the children under
5 years are found to be moderately to severely “stunted.” (UNICEF statistics, 2004). Worm infestations exact
a hidden toll on the children, leaving many severely undernourished and very susceptible to the respiratory and gastrointestinal
diseases around them.
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