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There is no anthrax
epidemic in the world "It is necessary to call upon all the countries of our region in view of the dangers that mankind is facing at this moment. We should call for calm, so that people can understand that the objective of this very small minority is to provoke paralysis," said the Permanent Secretary of SELA, Ambassador Otto Boye, during the press conference, held at the headquarters of the organization in Caracas. For his part, Venezuela's representative at the PAHO and the WHO, Daniel Gutiérrez, said that panic could, indeed, affect health in the countries of the region because it could bring about bottlenecks in public health services, overcharge epidemic monitoring systems and laboratories and, even worse, "it could keep people who are affected by real diseases from accessing the medications they need." In this regard, the National Medical Coordinator of Defensa Civil de Venezuela, Jorge Insignares, said that although Venezuelan authorities have received telephone calls from people who believe to have been mailed envelopes infected with anthrax bacteria, no case of the disease has been confirmed so far. Consequently, Insignares recommended the population to keep calm. The Permanent Secretary of SELA
presented at the press conference a Current Situation Report on the possible economic impact on the
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean from the bacteriological and chemical attacks
registered in certain areas of the United States in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks
of 11 September. First of all, meat products would be directly affected, but other agricultural products that may carry or transmit pathogenic agents could also be indirectly affected. In this scenario, the countries whose exports would be most seriously affected are Uruguay and Argentina, with loses in foreign meat exports that could reach $5.3 billion during the next six months, in case that such a warfare forces consumer countries to increase controls and impose restrictions or even quarantines. Domestic and subregional markets and/or meat producers and sellers would also be badly hit, affecting countries with a substantial domestic production such as Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and Colombia. Based on an initial evaluation, loses could amount to $3.4 billion. Another sector affected is tourism, where the negative consequences of the terrorist attack of 11 September are already evident, since more than 70,000 jobs have been eliminated in the region. The situation is compounded by tourists' possible reluctance to travel because of fears of becoming infected with diseases that are still affecting less developed countries. Tourism-related activities in Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Central America countries and the Lesser Antilles could drop by as much as 42 percent. Because of their nature and structure, the economies of these countries are more vulnerable to external economic conditions. Furthermore, the use of more non-tariff barriers to trade by major consumer countries could begin to increase, negatively affecting products from developing countries, as is the case of Latin America and the Caribbean. As regards the specific impact on the health sector, the PAHO/WHO representative said that while the possibility of a bacteriological or chemical attack is quite real, it represents "a minimal risk when compared to the number of diseases" currently suffered by millions of persons worldwide. "Every year, 14 million
people die in the world due to infectious diseases," Gutiérrez said, adding that
"the risks represented by diseases such as dengue fever, cholera and malaria is, at
present, higher than that of a chemical or biological attack." "Moreover, (the WHO) has set up protocols containing procedures to follow for all the diseases that are known in the world and for chemical polluting agents; and it also counts on mechanisms to guarantee the supply of medicines and vaccinations to any country in case of an attack of this type," Gutiérrez said. Insignares said there are four "key" points that everybody must know well: Anthrax can be contracted through cutaneous, respiratory or intestinal infection with the bacteria; it is not a contagious disease; treatment of the disease is simple and available in the country; and there is no reason for a person to receive a vaccination if he or she is not infected with bacteria.
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http://www.sela.org |