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Mexico sends humanitarian aid to Chile in response to RSV outbreak

Mexico City, Mexico — The Government of Mexico has sent humanitarian aid to Chile to provide specialized medical care during a respiratory viral outbreak. The Ministry of Foreign Relations (SRE) says the Emergency Medical Team sent consists of 26 specialists from institutions belonging to the Health sector.

The SRE pointed out that the objective is to provide medical attention to girls and boys affected by the outbreak of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

Unusual rains and severe winter have caused an increase in diseases in that nation. On Monday, the Government of Mexico said they sent humanitarian aid to the people of the Republic of Chile.

Medical personnel sent include nursing staff, intensive care medical personnel and pediatric specialists to care for girls and boys from zero to five years affected by the outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus.

This effort to provide solidarity aid against one of the biggest viruses that this southern country has faced in recent years is the result of collaboration between the Secretaries of Health, the Navy and Foreign Relations (SRE), as well as the Mexican Agency International Development Cooperation (Amexcid) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Through the strategy of Emergency Medical Teams of the Ministry of Health of Mexico, in an act of solidarity and cooperation between our country and the region, the Secretary of Health, Jorge Alcocer Varel signed the letter confirming the dispatch of the Mexican mission of specialists from the National Institutes of Health that left at 5:10 a.m. Monday.

The Mexican health specialists were sent in response to the request of the Government of Chile. The medical personnel were transferred on a Navy plane with six naval elements that make up its crew.

Later, the 11th Air Brigade of the Chilean Air Force will also arrive in Santiago de Chile, staying for 20 days. They will work to reinforce the clinical teams specialized in pediatric intensive care for patients under five years of age with symptoms of severe respiratory illness, especially infants.

With this support from specialized medical cells, the Chilean health system will convert and expand the number of pediatric beds for critical care in five regions of Chile.

In their statetment, the SRE reported that “for said mission, the institutions will cover salaries and indirect costs. The Chilean government will support the transfer from the airport or point of entry through which the Mexican medical mission enters to the place where the deployment will take place. Accommodation and food will be covered by the Ministry of Health of that nation.”

In recent days, the Republic of Chile was affected by unusual rains and a severe winter. This caused an increase in respiratory diseases due to various viruses, with the consequent demand for health services, especially for children who require highly specialized care.

The RSV outbreak affects, above all, infants from zero to one year, followed by the age group from one to four years. Faced with this situation, the Chilean government requested external humanitarian aid to respond to the demand for assistance, which involves emergency care, hospitalization and occupation of critical beds.