The quick spread of the Zika Virus has forced the OMS to declare a global health emergency.

In Venezuela, which is suffering from an ongoing economic crisis which has lead to severe medication shortages, the crisis may be particularly fatal- as doctors struggle to combat infections and its potentially fatal complications like Guillaum-Barre syndrome without the necessary medications and facilities.

As a Venezuelan photographer living through yet another crisis, I have photographed this disease and its effects on the population.

This reportage was featured in LENS - The New York Times.

A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
Boxes with mosquitos from different locations are reproduced in an insectarium in IVIC.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
A scientist analyze an image of an RNA sequencing from several samples of infected people with Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika virus in a laboratory of the Venezuelan Institute of Scientist Research (IVIC in Spanish).
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
A teenager walks through a cloud of poison smoke during a fumigation event in Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
Inhabitants of Petare slum in Caracas watch when a member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department prepares a machine for fumigate the tiny spaces frequently seen on the slums.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
The poison smoke can kill the Aedes Aegypti mosquito but the eggs and larvae can survive in a warm and humid environment for months.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
A girl cover her face during a fumigation in Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
The Aedes Aegypti mosquito is the vector of Zika virus as well as Dengue and Chikungunya.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
Larvae of stages 3 and 4 are seen on a insectarium in the Venezuelan Institute of Scientist Research (IVIC in Spanish).
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
The ecologist Silvia Hurtado, is in charge of the insectarium that prepares amounts of mosquitos for entomology researching and other experiments in IVIC and others institutions in Venezuela.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
The entomologist Zoila Moros extracts RNA from infected samples of Zika virus in the Venezuelan Institute of Scientist Research (IVIC in Spanish).
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
Edwin Gonzalez (15) contracted the Guillain-Barre syndrome after had Zika virus two weeks ago. He's going to be treated with plasmapheresis due to immunoglobulin absence in Venezuela’s medicine supply.
A member of the Sucre's municipality epidemiology department spreads poison smoke in a green area inside Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela. zika virus venezuela crisis
An Aedes Aegypti mosquito watched through a microscope in an IVIC laboratory.
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