Venezuela’s socialist regime on Tuesday confirmed the death of three unidentified individuals who contracted Hantavirus in the eastern state of Anzoátegui.
The Venezuelan regime confirmed the three deaths in an official statement issued by the nation’s Health Ministry. The Ministry emphasized that the virus is transmitted by rodents in rural and agricultural areas primarily through inhaling particles of urine, feces, or saliva in enclosed spaces.
Per the Venezuelan regime, “There is no scientific evidence of person-to-person transmission in our country.”
In addition to the three deaths in Anzoátegui, the Venezuelan Ministry confirmed the deaths of two healthcare professionals in the southwestern state of Barinas — noting that the cause of their deaths is yet to be confirmed. The Venezuelan regime ruled out any relation between the confirmed Hantavirus cases in Anzoátegui and the deaths reported in Barinas.
“The National Public Health System remains deployed and operational to ensure the health security of all Venezuelans. The definitive results of the investigation will be communicated promptly through official channels,” the statement read.
Both Anzoátegui and Barinas are among the Venezuelan states that were affected the least by the devastating June 24 double earthquakes, which left over 5,300 dead and over 16,700 injured according to the latest public update from the Venezuelan regime. The two states are about 407 miles away from each other and are also over 240 miles away from the northern state of La Guaira, the region most devastated by the June earthquakes.
At press time, the Venezuelan regime has not publicly disclosed further information beyond Tuesday’s Health Ministry statement. Venezuela’s public health system is notoriously known for its glaring deficiencies and current dysfunctional state — a result of nearly three decades’ worth of socialist mismanagement that was made much more evident in the aftermath of the June earthquakes.
On Monday, the Venezuelan Medical Federation (FMV), the nation’s largest medical union, reportedly released a statement demanding information regarding the deaths of three medical professionals in Barinas. At the time, unconfirmed reports suggested that their deaths may have been related the now-confirmed Hantavirus cases in Anzoátegui.
The organization, which disclosed the names of three dead doctors, criticized Barinas’ regional health authorities over its lack of transparency and for attempting to “attenuate and simplify” the reported event. According to the FMV, all three confirmed Hantavirus-related deaths in Anzoátegui came from the same family.
Speaking with Venevisión on Wednesday, Douglas León Natera, the head of the FMV, ruled out any risk of a mass nationwide hantavirus outbreak.
Referring to Monday’s statement, León Natera explained that it was issued in response to the reported deaths in Anzoátegui and Barinas — affirming that FMV’s intention “was not confrontational,” but to demand a responsible action from the authorities to reassure the general population and allow healthcare personnel to take immediate epidemiological precautions.
“Fortunately, health authorities officially confirmed that the deaths in Anzoátegui were due to Hantavirus infection,” León Natera said.
Additionally, León Natera called upon the nation’s health authorities to expedite fumigation and disinfection efforts in areas with the pretense of rubble from buildings that collapsed in the June 24 earthquake, as well as in areas serving as shelters for the thousands of individuals that were left homeless by the earthquakes.
“It is essential to protect the people who continue to work on search and rescue efforts and at collection centers. Strict epidemiological containment measures must be implemented in response to organic decomposition to prevent any secondary outbreaks in the disaster zone,” León Natera said.
Similarly, Venezuelan infectious disease specialist Julio Castro ruled out the possibility of a hantavirus outbreak in Venezuela speaking with the newspaper El Nacional on Wednesday.
“The strains of hantavirus in Venezuela are not capable of person-to-person transmission, which makes it highly unlikely that the number of cases will rise significantly beyond what we are currently seeing,” Castro said.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.