Medical staff aboard the U.S. Navy’s hospital ship Comfort said they are seeing a surge of patients who fled Venezuela on recent port stops in Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica and Panama, where it was docked Thursday.
“I would say 25 to 30 percent of the patients I see in these primary clinics are Venezuelan migrants,” said Navy medic Lt. Cmdr. Jean Fortunado.
“Many of them have had access to excellent care in the past,“ she said, but the exodus of medical professionals from Venezuela interrupted that care. “Some of them have gone without care for one year to three years,” Fortunado said.
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