Dr. Vitelio Carrera assures that cases of leishmaniasis in Bocas del Toro have been declining

The Regional Director of the Bocas del Toro Ministry of Health (Minsa), Dr. Vitelio Carrera, revealed that the cases of leishmaniasis diagnosed in that province have been on the decline.

He stressed that an endemic channel on leishmaniasis is managed annually, adding that it is very difficult to eradicate it.

“Leishmaniasis lives with us forever and ever. It would have to eliminate all the reservoirs that are our animals in the jungle area and we would have to eliminate the transmitter; what we do is control the vectors, try to reduce them, through cleanliness, awareness, cleanliness and identifying which are the ones that transmit the disease, the transmission that produces lesions that are disfiguring and painful is reduced,” he explained.

Carrera said that this disease does not have a specific age, however, most cases are regularly reported in children under 15 years of age. “The women here in Bocas del Toro are the most affected, compared to the men,” she said.