Bolivian genetic study highlighted

Bolivia : The solidarity mission Moto Mendez, designed to study and diagnose people with disabilities in Bolivia, boasts satisfactory results, according to a coordinator of the project, Cuban Doctor Miriam Portuondo.

Portuondo said that the study is currently being carried out in El Alto city and the high plateau locality of Viacha, both in La Paz department.

The Cuban doctor, who is a specialist in Clinical Genetics, said that since November 16 the multidisciplinary working groups, made up of specialists in genetics, general medicine, psychopedagogy, neurophysiology, neuropediatrics, otorhinolaryngology and psychology, have visited 139,468 houses in the said areas, and 5,678 people were diagnosed to have some disability. Portuondo explained that in those visits, the doctors and defectologists offer attention to those with physical or mental limitations and their relatives. According to projections, by year 2010 Bolivia is expected to have a reliable registry about the number of disabled, and policies will be designed to offer them education and employment to insert them into society. La Paz, Prensa Latina