Hundreds of children under the age of five and people over 60 are dying in Peru due to respiratory infections that turn into pneumonia.
This situation is taking place in 14 regions of the country such as Cusco and Junín, in the southern and central highlands, during the coldest season, informed El País.
“The National Epidemiology Center of the Ministry of Health has registered, between January and June, 30,733 cases of this disease, the highest figure in the last five years”, wrote this media, adding that this week the State announced the distribution of more than 100,000 outerwear to alleviate the situation.
El País said also that 43% of children under three years of age have anemia in Peru, and 12.9% of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition, according to 2017 figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI).
Another reason for the increase in the proliferation of these diseases is the increase in poverty in Peru, which rose by 1% after 16 years. Nevertheless, the representative of the Health sector maintains that the fatality rate of pneumonia has decreased. “The population has increased, it is logical that there is an increase in pneumonia,” he added, according to El País.
