Border States Struggle to Contain Infectious Diseases from Venezuela

Brazil, Colombia, and other Venezuelan border states are struggling to treat the variety of serious illnesses refugees from the socialist state are bringing with them, a report from the Wall Street Journal detailed Wednesday.

The thousands of Venezuelan refugees arriving daily in Brazil’s and Colombia’s border towns often carry serious diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, diphtheria, dengue, and tuberculosis that they are spreading to local populations, according to Colombian, Brazilian, and Venezuelan health officials who spoke with the Journal.

The diseases, previously believed to have been eradicated, are now cropping up in cities hundreds of miles away from the Venezuelan border as local authorities seek to move refugees from border towns into other parts of the country.

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