translated from Spanish: Experts warn of outbreaks of new diseases in Chile

Changes in climate, migration, tourism booms and anti-vaccine movements are changing the national epidemiological landscape to the point that experts augur the inevitable emergence of brot it is of complex – and in some fatal cases – tropical infectious diseases that until some years ago were non-existent in the mainland of mainland Chile, such as yellow fever, malaria, ringworm corporis, leprosy, tuberculosis leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, histoplasmosis and estrongiloidiosis, among others.
The topic was analyzed in depth by infectious doctors and microbiology specialists gathered at the X Day of Infectology of the School of Medicine of the University of Valparaiso, a space in which they unveiled the main new pathologies who threaten Chileans, which of them are already present in our country, which areas are most affected and what type of people are most exposed to their effects.
Faced with this reality, the infectious physician of the U. de Valparaíso Rodrigo Cruz – general coordinator of the meeting – ensured that this situation is a reality that cannot be unknown and that, therefore, the State must be concerned with designing and applying, to the a strategic plan for monitoring emerging diseases, as well as specific campaigns aimed at informing the population in a timely and appropriate manner of the potential risks to which it may be exposed.
Factors that changed the landscape
“In Chile there is still the temptation to associate this issue only with the arrival of immigrants, which is incorrect, since many other variables are involved in it. For example, it is a fact that some Chileans who have traveled for vacation or work to certain countries in the Americas, Africa or Asia return infected or bring with them parasitic microorganisms that are a latent threat, or as is already the case in the north, in Arica and Parinacota , where climate change is creating conditions conducive to the mosquito that transmitted dengue or yellow fever reproduces and remains there,” Dr. Cruz argued.
“The specific thing is that today, both authorities and specialists face the challenge of preventing the occurrence of outbreaks of non-endemic tropical infectious diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasitic worms, for some of the vaccines, tests and treatments and for others not,” he added.
The infectologist discovered last year the presence of Cryptococcus gattii for the first time in Chile, specifically in Limach. Spores of this dangerous fungus originating in rainforests, when inhaled by people, can cause severe lung infections and meningitis. That is why the specialist argued that it is imperative to have surveillance and diagnostic centers for travelers, screenings, medicines and vaccination plans especially focused on these aspects.
In addition, he said this challenge will also impact academic and clinical levels.
“This also leads us to consider whether the way we teach medicine in Chile and the way we ask in the exams – mainly Eunacom, which is based on the study and description of pictures and not on the study of pathologies – actually serves us even to deal with what is pointed out,” Cruz said.
Vaccination and children
In line with the above, the infectious pediatrician Karen Ducasse, who is also a teacher at the UV School of Medicine, warned about another central aspect in this topic: the need to update vaccination plans, especially those aimed at children.
“The phenomena described are going to change, rather, they are irreversibly changing the epidemiological profile of our country. And to be prepared it is necessary to know the vaccination status, the immunization coverage, the disease patterns and what displacements the migrants arrive and also the Chileans who travel, to know what kind of new diseases they could to be exposed, how and where they live today and what barriers they have to go to the health service,” she said.
Specifically, Dr. Ducasse warned that a relevant edge in this is the issue of overcrowding of those arriving in Chile, especially children, who are usually the least compliant with the necessary vaccine coverage. Indeed, 14% of the migrants who come to our country are children and adolescents under the age of 15, 11% of whom live overcrowded and have suboptimal immunity in PTSD, measles, polio and tuberculosis. The same has vaccine deficits in pathologies such as polio, rotavirus, yellow fever, rubella, measles, diphtheria and mumps.

Original source in Spanish