Amazonian tribe hit by swine flu

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Swine flu has killed seven members of an endangered Amazonian tribe, an indigenous rights organisation says.

Survival International said several hundred members of the Yanomami tribe in Venezuela could be infected.

The Venezuelan government has yet to confirm the deaths but said that a team was in the region to investigate.

An outbreak among the isolated tribes of the Amazon could spread among the indigenous population very quickly and kill many, campaigners fear.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8343965.stm

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Tragic - just tragic.

[Robb]

1. Yikes.

"Our bad" doesn't begin to cover it. This was interesting:

"A member of the regional government's medical team told the BBC swine flu was the suspected cause of the deaths of a pregnant woman and three small children.

"The Yanomami have been hurt by epidemics in the past, particularly when influenza and malaria were brought by miners in the 1980s. Survival International estimate that as much as a fifth of the community was killed during that period and that the Yanomami population has fallen to about 32,000."

[timeforpeace]

2. Ironically, the only contact with the outside world was with the indigenous rights organization team