Health risks to migrants not cooperating

Budapest, August 2 (MTI) – The Hungarian health authorities are in control of problems caused by migration but there are risks involved when arrivals are uncooperative and refuse to wait for the results of medical screenings, a government health official said on Tuesday.

“The Hungarian authorities have stretched themselves to the limits under the current rules,” Zoltán Ónodi-Szűcs, state secretary for health told a news conference at a transit zone on the Serbian border.

Hungary is often accused of not caring properly for migrants, but it is “very difficult” to do so when they are disinclined to accept help offered, he added.

Deputy chief medical officer Attila Kovács said that if there is a suspicion that a migrant is carrying an infectious disease, they are referred for a screening. From the end of last year to the start of August, altogether 4,100 screenings were ordered but only 350-400 actually took place, he said, adding that HIV, syphilis and hepatitis A and C were discovered.

Photo: Balázs Béli

Source: MTI