a public health challenge

Today I woke up having slept perfectly for about 7 hours. This is no cupcake given the constantly humid 80-degree air (in fahrenheit... equal to 26.7 celsius). Although I lucked out by arriving in Tapachula a little bit late -- late for the hottest weather of the year in April/May -- I unfortunately also arrived late for a golden opportunity in community engagement at the schools of Rio Florido and Ejida Hidalgo. Kat & Peter were lucky enough to participate in the Puppet Show Patas Rayadas Enamorados and explain through puppet-acting to the children in these communities how mosquito lifecycles work and how they (right now... as kids of the community) can help reduce the incidence of mosquito-born illnesses like Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, and Zika Virus. That said, I take solace in having slept soundly through the night without being drenched in sweat. This is in part thanks to the heavy rain of yesterday afternoon, captured below:

~4:30pm on 27 Jun 2018 at Hospital General de Tapachula 

But I am left with a predicament. ECOSUR's Equipo de Zancudo Transgénica (Dra. Ariane Dor, Ana Laura Pacheco y César) have concluded their Puppet Shows, because the schools are no longer in session due to summer break. There are a couple of community meetings planned, but I am here to work "full time" as a public health professional; this means I must find ways to gain experiences in Public Health outside of the pre-arranged means. Thanksfully, I am connected with Dr. Rogelio Danis at INSP/CRISP. This opens the door for other opportunities in public health experiences.

Every afternoon I can work with Dra. Daenna Romero in Hospital General de Tapachula. As an epidemiologist in México, Dra. Romero is both a physician and a public health professional. Each day we collect information on patients' progress, particularly those with Dengue Fever (which is currently experiencing a large outbreak in this region). Although the incidence of dengue in México may appear unimpressive at first glance, and it's true that the incidence has gone down considerably since 2015, this year it is highly concentrated in the state of Chiapas:

From Panorama Epidemiológico de Dengue 2018 - Semana Epidemiológica 25

And that is why making information accessible to the people in the affected communities is so crucial, and I'm so sad that I don't get to make a fool of myself puppet-acting in Spanish at the schools in Chiapas. But maybe there will be other opportunities for health promotion activities soon. Right now we're waiting for the election (this Saturday) before doing more outreach. In the meantime, enjoy this PSA:

Campaña de Prevención del #Zika, #Chikungunya y #Dengue 2017