update from dr tony in the amazon basin
Diagnosing and treating leprosy by hospital boat
Medical facilities are scarce for people living in the rural River Purus area. The Ipiranga Committee Association, led by Doctor Antonia Lopez Gonzalez (Dr Tony) and her team, find people that need medical care, by navigating the river in a hospital boat.
They visit 119 villages every year.
Villagers bringing patients to the hospital boat
The communities who live along the River Purus are hard up. They live in houses on stilts to prevent their homes from flooding. They travel by canoe as there are no roads. Schools, local amenities, and medical facilities are scarce.
Rural settlement along the Purus River
Their staple diet is dried fish and fruit with some cassava flour. The water is unsafe to drink. It’s hot all year round, up to 40° and 94% humidity. It’s not surprising that their health and immune systems are poor and everyone has problems with their skin. Life is very tough for these communities.
When the hospital boat arrives, Dr Tony and her team visit every family. They check anyone suspected of having leprosy and their family members and contacts. They give Multidrug Therapy to anyone diagnosed with leprosy. They find new cases of leprosy every day.
In addition to leprosy, there is tuberculosis, malaria, Chagas Disease and Dengue fever and other neglected tropical diseases. Life is precarious for everyone who lives here.
In addition to leprosy, there is tuberculosis, malaria, Chagas Disease and Dengue fever and other neglected tropical diseases. Life is precarious for everyone who lives here.
The team raises awareness of leprosy within communities and provides physiotherapy, orthopaedic support, shoes, education and school fees.
Many of Dr Tony’s volunteers come from the villages that they visit. When the volunteers return to their families, they are trained as the local health-worker.
Many of Dr Tony’s volunteers come from the villages that they visit. When the volunteers return to their families, they are trained as the local health-worker.
Leprosy is endemic in this area because there is no reliable healthcare system in place. This explains Dr Tony's efforts to train healthcare assistants, who help control the epidemic, by making the treatment available to patients. The training programme for healthcare assistants has been developed over the recent decades and reduces new cases and relapses considerably. This network of healthcare assistants makes leprosy control more manageable.
Dr Tony has an ambitious plan to eradicate leprosy from the River Purus area by 2040.
Dr Tony has an ambitious plan to eradicate leprosy from the River Purus area by 2040.
We live in intense and complicated times, but we work with passion and determination. Last year, we celebrated 32 years since we started our mission in this part of the Amazon. We need to keep the work of the hospital boat alive. We need to build life-skills schools, train more healthcare assistants, buy a new boat and build a health centre." We can do it thanks to our friends like St Francis Leprosy Guild" said Dr Tony. With your support, she can do it. With our many thanks.
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Dr Tony Lopez Gonzalez
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