A/H1N1: sí hay responsabilidad gubernamental

Esta nota del NYT reporta que la razón de las muertes de enfermos de A/H1N1 en México se debe principalmente a la deficiencia en los centros de salud mexicanos y a la cultura mexicana de la automedicación y la visita al doctor hasta el último momento.

"But one important factor may be the eclectic approach to health care in Mexico, where large numbers of people self-prescribe antibiotics, take only homeopathic medicine, or seek out mysterious vitamin injections. For many, only when all else fails do they go to a doctor, who may or may not be well prepared.

“I think it has to do with the culture, the idiosyncrasies of Mexicans,” said Dr. Nicolas Padilla, an epidemiologist at the University of Guanajuato. “The idea is that I don’t go to the doctor until I feel very bad.”

There also are logistical reasons that compel Mexicans to steer clear of hospitals. At overcrowded public facilities, they complain, they are often turned away, treated by indifferent doctors or made to wait endlessly."

"Mexico’s public health budget is about 3 percent of gross domestic product — within the range of spending by other major Latin American economies, but well below the rate in developed countries, according to the World Bank; and Mexico has only about half as many hospital beds per capita than the United States.

To help Mexico meet the extra costs of the flu epidemic, the World Bank issued a loan of $205 million."

Bueno, será la culpa compartida. Pero como siempre, ahogado el niño a tapar el pozo. Urge modernizar el sistema de salud.
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También recomiendo visitar el sitio de Google: Goolge Flu Trends especialmente disenado para México, en donde se registran las búsquedas de síntomas de influenza y se reportan por medio de un mapa. Es un sitio experimental que ha sido ya utilizado este 2009 en los EEUU para asociar epidemias con regiones.

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