And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: This message is forwarded to you as a service of Zapatistas Online. Comments and volunteers are welcome. Write [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send submissions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 08:43:47 -0800 Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Commandante Null <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Multiple recipients of list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Health: Quality of Life Passes by Mexican Children Health: Quality of Life Passes by Mexican Children By Pilar Franco Inter Press Service 29-MAR-99 MEXICO CITY, (Mar. 28) IPS - A staggering one-quarter of Mexican children are born with birth defects and despite the magnitude of an obvious public health problem, little is being done in the way of prevention or cure. Each year, 650,000 children are born in Mexico with some congenital or hereditary anomaly, ranging from a malformation of the heart to Down's syndrome -- or from diseases originating in the pre-natal period, like low weight or prematurity. These figures are becoming a public health problem, which is a crime "against the quality of life" of people and "diminishes the intelligence of the individual," says Gildardo Magana, coordinator of the Genetics Clinic in the department of medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Due to the genetic anomalies, Mexico has an annual infant mortality rate of 3,800 per 100,000, while Brazil has more than 3,100, Chile has 628, Canada has 328, Germany has 654, France has 416 and Russia has 2,900, according to the World Health Organization. Malformation most frequently occurs in children of low birth rate or those born prematurely -- who do not complete 40 weeks of gestation. In 60 percent of the cases, the origin of birth defects is unknown, but in the remainder they are attributed to environmental factors and hereditary problems, explained Magana. "The very poor nutrition of many Mexican mothers, who through ignorance or lack of economic resources" do not follow an adequate diet, also causes the birth of children with defects of their nervous systems, a problem which affects 20 of every 10,000 babies, he affirmed. The high incidence of teenage pregnancy, which in Mexico is rising to 30 percent, "is exacerbating the problem, as it is very difficult for women who still don't have a mature reproductive system to give birth to healthy babies," he added. Specialists on the issue, meeting at the Second National Congress on Birth Defects this month, emphasized the urgency of combating those problems through preventive policies. In this respect, Magana explained that there has been some progress in tackling the problem, considering that "for 10 years, the theme was absolutely unknown." However, he warned that "it will be difficult to move forward while the government is not allocating sufficient resources for research" on the matter. Prevention would permit savings of the enormous resources that are poured into rehabilitation of the patients, the specialists declared. Participants at the congress identified congenital anomalies as the biggest pediatric health problem in Mexico, the second leading cause of death and the main handicaps in the country. Of the environmental factors involved in the birth defects, Magana cited the cases of more than 100 boys and girls who registered high levels of lead in their blood, which caused alarm in the La Laguna region, in the northern state of Coahuila. Among the 100 sick minors were two babies aged six months who showed nearly 60 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The problem in La Laguna mobilized health workers from various public institutions to that region to identify the sources of lead contamination. Some specialists identified a mineral factory as a source of the contamination in La Laguna, and an excess of arsenic in the subsoil that would cause death at an early age. In addition, investigators from the department of Chemical Sciences of the Autonomous University of Coahuila warned of a apparent signs of leukemia among the infant population of Saltillo, the capital of that state. Magana noted that in Mexico City, one of the most polluted urban areas in the world, "many kids under 15 years old have high blood lead levels," a situation that among other problems "is causing difficulties in learning." "Something is being done" to face up to the problem of congenital malformation, "but it is insufficient," he lamented. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NPC Information Associates "Intelligence for the Underdog!" [EMAIL PROTECTED] 770-457-6758 -- To unsubscribe from this list send a message containing the words unsubscribe chiapas95 to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher://eco.utexas.edu. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
