Venezuelans suffer as malaria outbreak spreads in drug-short nation

In a rare release of data earlier this year, government statistics showed there were 240,613 cases of malaria last year, up 76 percent compared with 2015, with most in Bolivar. The former Health Minister was fired after the data was published, and it has not been updated since. The government did not respond to a request for comment on the malaria outbreak. On a visit to Bolivar in early November, the vice minister for health, Moira Tovar, said the outbreak in the state would be controlled within three months. She said that 32 people had died during just one week in late October. More…