Panama manages malaria outbreak, clinic shooting, and medical service shifts

Panama is managing several public health and safety developments. The Ministry of Health (Minsa) has confirmed a malaria outbreak involving 37 positive cases centered around the Merca Panamá wholesale food market in Panama City. The outbreak is primarily affecting informal workers in the wooded areas surrounding the market. Health officials have initiated mass testing, treatment distribution, and fumigation, noting that the disease is spread by mosquitoes and cannot be transmitted through food.

In a separate security incident, two patients were wounded by gunfire in the waiting room of the Veracruz Health Center in Panamá Oeste province on October 17. Both patients were stabilized and transported to Hospital Santo Tomás under police escort. The clinic closed briefly for repairs but was scheduled to resume regular hours on October 19.

Additionally, the Social Security Fund (CSS) is reorganizing hemodialysis services following a seismic event on October 9. Patients from the Metro 3 unit will now receive treatment in three shifts at the Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital Complex. This reorganization aims to normalize services across the metropolitan network, including Metro 1, Metro 2, and the Dr. Francisco Díaz Mérida Institute.