“Health services are under extreme pressure, with centers operating above their capacity” in the face of the massive influx of trauma cases following last week's double earthquake in Venezuela, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said at a press conference in Geneva, warning that “there is an increased risk of disease outbreaks.”

Disturbances in health services and water and sanitation networks, combined with population movements, could favor outbreaks “of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, diphtheria and whooping cough.” They could also accelerate the spread “of vector- and water-borne diseases,” particularly yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, Zika and malaria, he noted.

“The interim president (Delcy Rodríguez) reported that 38 hospitals were affected,” said Lindmeier. As of June 27, the WHO managed to compile reports on the situation of 21 health centers distributed between Caracas, La Guaira, Miranda and Falcón: three are in critical condition, six have structural damage or are only partially functioning, and the others remain operational, although under strong pressure, detailed the WHO spokesperson.

Collapse of forensic services and morgues

The first evaluations by the WHO reveal alterations in patient care due to the overcrowding of centers, the increase in surgical waiting lists (particularly in traumatology-orthopedics and neurosurgery), failures in biosafety measures and the pressure to which staff are subjected.

“Among the main shortcomings are the collapse of forensic services and morgues, as well as the insufficiency of the systems for registering victims and tracking missing persons,” the spokesperson added.

The official toll of the double earthquake, still very provisional, reached 1,719 dead and 5,034 injured, according to the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez. The UN, for its part, indicates that around 50,000 people remain missing.