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WORLD NEWSSaturday 10 September

Women pose for a photo at the gastronomic fair Mistura, in Lima, Peru. President Pedro Pablo Kuc- Puerto Rico doctors warn of
zynski kicked off this year’s edition on a solemn note reminding his compatriots that not everyone
can savor Peru’s culinary richness. scarce resources to fight ZikaÂ

(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) DANICA COTO
Associated Press
Few poor Peruvians at Latin American food festival SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Doctors in Puerto Rico
are warning that the U.S. territory does not have the
FRANKLIN BRICENO America’s largest culinary vor Peru’s culinary richness. resources to handle the fallout of a Zika epidemic as
Associated Press festival. “We have to think that in officials report an uptick in the number of fetuses with
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Luisa It’s a study of contrasts Peru there are hundreds of malformations that were carried by women infected
Mendoza and her husband unique to Peru, a country thousands of children who with the virus.
share a plastic dish loaded with one of the world’s rich- are malnourished and sev- The cases are among the first of what health officials
with starchy mix of rice and est culinary traditions but eral million with anemia,” believe could reach a couple hundred next year,
chicken accompanied whose haute cuisine is off he said. sparking concerns about the lack of funds and spe-
by a half-eaten plantain, limits to an estimated 6 mil- The food festival organiz- cialists needed to care for children with severe birth
among about 300 people lion like Mendoza who get ers did include, as they did defects on an island mired in a deep economic crisis.
at one of Peru’s 16,000 by on less than $3 a day. last year, one restaurant “We are talking about babies that will have problems
soup kitchens. The Mistura foodie fair now in which women workers with hearing disorders, developmental disorders,” said
While the couple spends under way annually at- from soup kitchens prepare Dr. Nabal Bracero, who runs a fertility clinic. “And now,
less than 50 cents a day tracts about half a million dishes made with fish and because of the complexity of Puerto Rico’s financial
for their meal, across town people over nine days, in- beans. situation, our health system is not ready for that.”
high-priced dishes reflect- cluding 35,000 foreigners. But for the most part, more So far, 13 dead fetuses belonging to Zika-infected
ing the country’s African, President Pedro Pablo Kuc- humble Peruvians are un- mothers have been identified. Several of them pre-
Asian, European and in- zynski kicked off this year’s seen at Mistura except sented signs of brain damage, and one was sent to
digenous roots are being edition on a solemn note working in the kitchen and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
featured at some 200 pop- reminding his compatriots cleaning the dishes left by Atlanta to be analyzed, according to Health Secre-
up restaurants during Latin that not everyone can sa- better-off patrons.q tary Ana Rius.
It is unclear whether the 13 cases involved miscarriages
A man collects his lunch tray at a soup kitchen in Lima, Peru. Across town high-priced dishes re- or abortions. Jillian Oliveras, a spokeswoman for Puerto
flecting the country’s African, Asian, European and indigenous roots are being featured at some Rico’s Health Department, said no further information
200 pop-up restaurants during Latin America’s largest culinary festival. would be released because of privacy laws.
Puerto Rico reported the first Zika-related microcepha-
(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) ly case acquired on U.S. soil in May, and a recent study
estimates that up to 10,300 pregnant women on the
island could be infected with Zika and that between
100 to 270 babies could be born with microcephaly.
“We are moving into what I call the perfect storm,
which will be spring of 2017,” Bracero said. “We will
have a peak of cases with the least amount of re-
sources.”
Puerto Rico faces a nearly $70 billion public debt load
it is seeking to restructure, and a federal control board
is expected to soon take over the island’s finances as
a result of a recent U.S. rescue package. Government
officials have warned there is barely enough money to
keep providing essential services such as education,
health and public safety.
The island’s Health Department is currently identifying
how many medical specialists there are and where
they are located as it prepares for a surge in cases,
said Dr. Miguel Valencia Prado, director of the depart-
ment’s Division of Children with Special Medical Needs.
The cost to treat a microcephaly case throughout a
person’s lifetime could range roughly from $3.8 million
to $10 million, depending on the severity of the case,
he said, adding that he was concerned given Puerto
Rico’s financial situation plus other limits as a result of
being a U.S. territory.
“We cannot expand many services given a cap on
Medicaid,” he said, referring to a U.S. law that limits the
amount of federal funding Puerto Rico receives. “We
have to figure out how to make this work.”
His concern comes as the CDC director warned Fri-
day that the U.S. government has essentially run out of
money to fight Zika amid funding delays, and that mi-
crocephaly cases will increase as a result. Previously,
Republicans who delayed acting on a $1.9 billion re-
quest to fight Zika said none of the money should go to
affiliates of Planned Parenthood in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has a total of 17,871 Zika cases, including
1,517 pregnant women. A total of 144 people have
been hospitalized, including 45 diagnosed with a tem-
porary paralysis condition known as Guillain-Barre.q