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| 'Everyone is catching it': Venezuelans fear the worst as Zika infections rise | 'Everyone is catching it': Venezuelans fear the worst as Zika infections rise |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| You can spot them by their warm winter clothes, despite the tropical heat. Inside a dingy public health clinic in the Libertador municipality of Caracas, half a dozen people are waiting to find out if they have the Zika virus. | You can spot them by their warm winter clothes, despite the tropical heat. Inside a dingy public health clinic in the Libertador municipality of Caracas, half a dozen people are waiting to find out if they have the Zika virus. |
| “It’s the chills that are the worst,” says Angy, 21. She displays a scarlet rash on both her upper arms. Alongside her, her mother, Belkis Carillo, a nurse, needs no convincing. “Everyone is catching it,” she says. “My sister, my cousin, my nephew. They’ve all had it.” | “It’s the chills that are the worst,” says Angy, 21. She displays a scarlet rash on both her upper arms. Alongside her, her mother, Belkis Carillo, a nurse, needs no convincing. “Everyone is catching it,” she says. “My sister, my cousin, my nephew. They’ve all had it.” |
| Medical staff said they had been strictly instructed not to give details on the number of patients confirmed infected | Medical staff said they had been strictly instructed not to give details on the number of patients confirmed infected |
| Zika has arrived in Venezuela with cruel timing, in the midst of the steepest recession in living memory. The crash in the price of the country’s only significant export, oil, has brought the long-mismanaged economy closer to total collapse. The International Monetary Fund predicts inflation will hit 720% in 2016. Many economists say a default before the end of the year is more likely than not. | Zika has arrived in Venezuela with cruel timing, in the midst of the steepest recession in living memory. The crash in the price of the country’s only significant export, oil, has brought the long-mismanaged economy closer to total collapse. The International Monetary Fund predicts inflation will hit 720% in 2016. Many economists say a default before the end of the year is more likely than not. |
| As its government runs out of dollars, all imports, including medicines, have been radically cut back. At the Libertador clinic, handwritten notes plead with patients not to bother asking for HIV or hepatitis tests until further notice. The test kits ran out months ago. | As its government runs out of dollars, all imports, including medicines, have been radically cut back. At the Libertador clinic, handwritten notes plead with patients not to bother asking for HIV or hepatitis tests until further notice. The test kits ran out months ago. |
| Related: Venezuela president declares economic emergency as inflation hits 141% | Related: Venezuela president declares economic emergency as inflation hits 141% |
| And, just as the authorities are accused of being overly secretive as to the real state of the economy (the official inflation figure – more than 140% – was only released in January after a 12-month delay), critics say a cover-up over the severity of Zika is under way too. | And, just as the authorities are accused of being overly secretive as to the real state of the economy (the official inflation figure – more than 140% – was only released in January after a 12-month delay), critics say a cover-up over the severity of Zika is under way too. |
| All the medical staff the Guardian spoke to at the Libertador clinic said they had been strictly instructed not to give any details on the number of patients confirmed infected. The official health ministry count of the number of Zika infections nationwide is between 4,500 and 4,700. | All the medical staff the Guardian spoke to at the Libertador clinic said they had been strictly instructed not to give any details on the number of patients confirmed infected. The official health ministry count of the number of Zika infections nationwide is between 4,500 and 4,700. |
| “We Venezuelans have a name for that,” says Belkis. “It’s called a ‘fantasy figure’.” | “We Venezuelans have a name for that,” says Belkis. “It’s called a ‘fantasy figure’.” |
| Doctors agree. A private association, the Network to Defend National Epidemiology, estimates that it is more likely Venezuela has 400,000 cases. Neighbouring Colombia, has reported 25,645 cases of Zika. | Doctors agree. A private association, the Network to Defend National Epidemiology, estimates that it is more likely Venezuela has 400,000 cases. Neighbouring Colombia, has reported 25,645 cases of Zika. |
| One possible indication of the prevalence of the virus is that the first known sexually transmitted case in the US has a Venezuelan connection. The infected patient’s partner is understood to have contracted the disease during a recent visit. On Tuesday, China confirmed that the only case it has so far detected is a man who travelled to Venezuela in January. | One possible indication of the prevalence of the virus is that the first known sexually transmitted case in the US has a Venezuelan connection. The infected patient’s partner is understood to have contracted the disease during a recent visit. On Tuesday, China confirmed that the only case it has so far detected is a man who travelled to Venezuela in January. |
| A couple of miles down the road from the clinic there is another queue, of perhaps 50 people, at the vast Concepción Palacios maternity hospital. Julimar Beumon, 19, is four months pregnant and waiting for a check up. “I’m worried,” she says. | A couple of miles down the road from the clinic there is another queue, of perhaps 50 people, at the vast Concepción Palacios maternity hospital. Julimar Beumon, 19, is four months pregnant and waiting for a check up. “I’m worried,” she says. |
| Venezuelan authorities are looking into one recent case of microcephaly, the birth defect in which babies are born with unusually small heads, which is suspected of being connected to the Zika virus. | Venezuelan authorities are looking into one recent case of microcephaly, the birth defect in which babies are born with unusually small heads, which is suspected of being connected to the Zika virus. |
| The baby was born on 27 January at the infant maternity hospital in the El Valle district of the city, which is now named after the late president Hugo Chávez, who died in 2013. | The baby was born on 27 January at the infant maternity hospital in the El Valle district of the city, which is now named after the late president Hugo Chávez, who died in 2013. |
| Inside its cavernous entrance, a huge poster of Chávez comforting a young child is on display. “Only possible in Socialism”, reads the script underneath. Accessible healthcare for all was one of the boasts of his political movement. But now the hospital is another example of the severe strains Venezuela’s health system is facing. | Inside its cavernous entrance, a huge poster of Chávez comforting a young child is on display. “Only possible in Socialism”, reads the script underneath. Accessible healthcare for all was one of the boasts of his political movement. But now the hospital is another example of the severe strains Venezuela’s health system is facing. |
| Workers the Guardian spoke to inside the hospital, who asked not to be identified, complained of a chronic shortage of medicines – and even more basic supplies: one worker said that there had not been running water at the hospital for more than a month. | Workers the Guardian spoke to inside the hospital, who asked not to be identified, complained of a chronic shortage of medicines – and even more basic supplies: one worker said that there had not been running water at the hospital for more than a month. |
| The Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation has said that 70% of basic medicines in the country are in short supply. | The Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation has said that 70% of basic medicines in the country are in short supply. |
| Venezuela’s health minister, Luisana Melo, has also indicated that there has been a notable spike in the number of cases of Guillain-Barré, a rare disorder in which a person’s immune system attacks nerve cells, which may also be linked to Zika. About 255 cases are being investigated; 55 of those affected are in intensive care. | Venezuela’s health minister, Luisana Melo, has also indicated that there has been a notable spike in the number of cases of Guillain-Barré, a rare disorder in which a person’s immune system attacks nerve cells, which may also be linked to Zika. About 255 cases are being investigated; 55 of those affected are in intensive care. |
| Venezuelans are used to storing water; inadvertently creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes | Venezuelans are used to storing water; inadvertently creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes |
| Their treatment is complicated owing to a nationwide shortage of immunoglobulin, one of the therapies for the condition. Families of those affected have made appeals on social media for supplies. The state-run pharmaceutical company Quimbiotec, the only national producer, reportedly shut down production last August, owing to a lack of raw materials. It has said operations will restart soon. | Their treatment is complicated owing to a nationwide shortage of immunoglobulin, one of the therapies for the condition. Families of those affected have made appeals on social media for supplies. The state-run pharmaceutical company Quimbiotec, the only national producer, reportedly shut down production last August, owing to a lack of raw materials. It has said operations will restart soon. |
| Julimar says at her home there are mosquitoes everywhere, and always have been. The protection she takes is in the form of a treasured bottle of mosquito repellent. She uses it sparingly; repellent, like everything else, is in short supply. A search for the most common brand, OFF!, on the website of the two main pharmacies in Venezuela shows zero availability. | Julimar says at her home there are mosquitoes everywhere, and always have been. The protection she takes is in the form of a treasured bottle of mosquito repellent. She uses it sparingly; repellent, like everything else, is in short supply. A search for the most common brand, OFF!, on the website of the two main pharmacies in Venezuela shows zero availability. |
| A further challenge is that most homes in Venezuela, like public buildings (including hospitals), have only intermittent running water; the result of an ongoing drought and years of inadequate investment and maintenance. | A further challenge is that most homes in Venezuela, like public buildings (including hospitals), have only intermittent running water; the result of an ongoing drought and years of inadequate investment and maintenance. |
| That means Venezuelans are used to storing water; inadvertently creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The government has pledged an information campaign and is increasing scheduled anti-mosquito fumigation visits. | That means Venezuelans are used to storing water; inadvertently creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The government has pledged an information campaign and is increasing scheduled anti-mosquito fumigation visits. |
| Back at the Concepción Palacios hospital, another woman, Karelys Pulgar, holds her belly. She is pregnant with her sixth child, and says she is praying everything will be OK. And, in the absence of any other option, she has started her own low-tech routine. She burns empty egg cartons inside her home. “The smoke scares off the mosquitoes, I hope,” she says. | Back at the Concepción Palacios hospital, another woman, Karelys Pulgar, holds her belly. She is pregnant with her sixth child, and says she is praying everything will be OK. And, in the absence of any other option, she has started her own low-tech routine. She burns empty egg cartons inside her home. “The smoke scares off the mosquitoes, I hope,” she says. |