Contemporary Issues
The inaccessibility of the Warao's lands make access to health care difficult. Tuberculosis is common.
In the summer of 2008, indigenous leaders and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley issued a report detailing the deaths of 38 Warao in the Delta Amacuro state from a mysterious illness. The disease, which causes "partial paralysis, convulsions and an extreme fear of water" is believed to be a form of rabies transmitted by bats. Upon reaching Caracas to inform the government of the outbreak and request assistance, the leaders and researchers "met with disrespect on every level, as if the deaths of indigenous people are not even worth anything."
Read more about this topic: Warao People
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