Doctors in Venezuela warn earthquake survivors face expanding medical crisis as infections and sanitation gaps grow

Venezuelan doctors and humanitarian workers are warning that the aftermath of late-June twin earthquakes is beginning to threaten a widening public health crisis, driven by untreated injuries, deteriorating sanitation, and a health system already strained by years of shortages. In a report published July 2, clinicians said the immediate search-and-rescue phase has shifted toward longer-running medical dangers, particularly infections among people injured during the disasters and still lacking adequate care.

The warning comes after the June 24 earthquakes, which officials and aid groups described as devastating for coastal and nearby areas. ABC News, in a July 2 syndication of the same report, said the death toll has been far higher than the number of living people pulled from rubble by rescue efforts that continued into the week. With many survivors evacuated to crowded spaces or forced to stay outdoors, clinicians said the conditions that follow a disaster can compound injuries and increase exposure to infectious diseases.

Doctors pointed to the risk of complications for people who were trapped or exposed to disaster conditions for extended periods and then reached medical care late. Eugenio Cova, described as head of the trauma unit at Hospital del Oeste Dr. José Gregorio Hernández in Caracas, said the next danger would be infections that emerge as patients’ injuries become complicated over time. He also described an evolution from complex trauma to infection-driven complications, according to the report carried by multiple outlets.

Aid workers and health personnel also warned that damage to water and sanitation infrastructure is increasing exposure risks. The reports say that thousands of displaced Venezuelans are sleeping in shelters with limited space and hygiene options, or outside without consistent access to clean water, amid what aid workers characterized as dismal sanitary conditions. They also said that infrastructure impacts in hard-hit communities could accelerate outbreaks unless basic services, including safe water, waste disposal, and medical treatment, are restored or supplemented.

The clinicians’ concern is shaped by what they described as chronic constraints in Venezuela’s medical capacity, including shortages of doctors. The report attributed those shortages to years of economic crisis, underfunding, and medical emigration, leaving facilities with less ability to absorb sudden surges in trauma cases and infection-related complications.

The articles also highlighted the role of displacement and exposure in shaping risk, including concerns about diseases that can spread in hot conditions or through vectors. Veronique Durroux, identified as a spokesperson for a U.N. humanitarian agency for Latin America in the reporting, said there was concern about potential vector-borne diseases, according to the text published by ABC News.

With the crisis moving from rubble removal to post-disaster care, the immediate next steps described in the reporting center on medical triage, access to clean water, and infection control in shelters and communities with damaged infrastructure. Health authorities and aid groups will be focused on preventing secondary deaths caused by infections and preventable disease spread as the weeks after the quakes proceed.

The warnings also underscore the scale of strain placed on hospitals and emergency response capacity across Venezuela, where the quake-related caseload is arriving on top of long-running gaps in staffing and resources. Unless medical and sanitation measures can keep pace, clinicians said, injuries that might otherwise have been contained could evolve into infections that spread to other patients and communities.