It’s the question on everyone’s lips – but one that so far, few have answered: Why have so many died in Mexico of the new H1N1 flu virus, but only one – so far – in the United States?
Looking for an answer, Leo Zuckermann, for Mexico’s Excelsior, writes in part:
“When I get a fever in Mexico, I telephone my doctor. He’s a friend who knows me perfectly. He asks me about my symptoms, makes an initial diagnosis and usually issues me a prescription over the phone. He only asks me to come see him if he thinks my condition is very serious.”
“This type of treatment is unthinkable in the United States. Doctors in the U.S. live in constant terror. If they make a mistake, the patient can sue them and win an ungodly amount of money. In this way, the incentives of the U.S. system render physicians extremely cautious. It’s not by chance, then, that all the sick end up coming to see their doctors. Since people who use the public health system in Mexico have to wait on endless lines to see a doctor, they only go when they are gravely ill.”
By Leo Zuckermann
Translated By Halszka Czarnocka
April 28, 2009
Mexico – Excelsior – Original Article (Spanish)
While in Mexico more over 100 people have died in the epidemic of swine flu, out of twenty cases that have appeared in the United States, none have been fatal. At the moment, there is no scientific explanation for this disparity. Nevertheless, I suspect that it has to do with the difference in health care systems of the two countries. I’ve had an opportunity to live on both sides of Rio Bravo and consequently I’m familiar with both systems. I have fallen ill here and there, and can assure you that these are two very different worlds.
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