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Guatemalan health minister blasted for not reacting sooner to control meningitis outbreak |
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July 29, 2000
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Guatemala's congress Thursday blasted the country's top health official for not reacting sooner to contain a meningitis outbreak at a public hospital that killed 15 newborns. A preliminary congressional investigation faulted the office of Health Minister Mario Bolanos office for not "taking sufficient steps to protect the infants until July 26." The first case was reported July 8 in the maternity ward of the public hospital in the mostly Indian city of Quetzaltenango, 125 miles (200 kms) northwest of Guatemala City. But in defending himself, Bolanos placed the blame on local hospital administrators appointed by lawmakers here, saying they "abandoned their posts." He also contended the infants were taken out of the ward by July 21. The infants died over the past two weeks. Meningitis attacks the spine and brain. The germ enters the bloodstream through contact with the nose or throat discharges of an infected person. It can kill a person within a few weeks if left untreated. Officials think the germ was brought into the hospital by one of the mothers in the ward in early July. Bolanos also debunked rumors of meningitis outbreaks in hospitals across the mountains of northwestern Guatemala. "The outbreak has been controlled," he told lawmakers. "There is no danger of the virus spreading."
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