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Tuberculosis outbreak triggers alarms in Santiago de Cuba prison

In the Mar Verde prison, in Santiago de Cuba, there are reports of cases of inmates sick with tuberculosis.

Prisión en Cuba (imagen de referencia) © Martí Noticias
Prison in Cuba (reference image) Photo © Martí Noticias

The situation of inmates sick with tuberculosis in the Mar Verde prison, in Santiago de Cuba, is worrying amid the shortage of medicine and food, theCuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH).

“The affected inmates are in isolation,” revealed the organization that usually monitors and reports the situation of the inmates.human rights of the prison population in Cuba. The report did not specify how many prisoners are sick.

However, avoiding contact of the sick with other prisoners will only help prevent new infections, but already infected prisoners need adequate nutrition.

On the subject, the Pan American Health Organization, in the “Tuberculosis care protocol in detention centers”, is very clear in point 9.7 when it establishes that diet “plays a fundamental role since correct nutrition promotes health and reduces complications.”

Hedocument recommends that these people receive additional products such as dairy products, red and white meat, eggs, as well as fruits, vegetables and cereals, in addition to legumes, a list of suggested foods that is far fromthe reality that exists in Cuban prisons.

Drinking plenty of water throughout the day, at least two liters, is another of the protocol's recommendations.

TheCuban prison population They live in prisons with inhumane conditions, poor nutrition and hygiene, which constitutes a breeding ground for outbreaks of tuberculosis and other diseases.

At the beginning of the month, political prisoner Yoandri Gutiérrez Vargas reported an outbreak of tuberculosis in the Las Mangas provincial prison, in the city of Bayamo, where he is being held after being sentenced to seven years for the alleged crimes of contempt and public disorder after his participation. in the popular protests of 11J.

“There are 14 tuberculosis patients in the hospital's penal ward and a terrible diet, few medications and we have also been denied medical assistance,” Gutiérrez assured the media.Martí News.

From the Boniato prison, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, Daniel Moreno de la Peña warned about a similar situation.

“This is in quarantine here because of the tuberculosis mess, 80 or so people (infected). My physical condition is terrible, right now I am at 43 kilograms. My normal weight is 70-odd kilos, which is why I am malnourished to degree three. And I'm not dying, they are killing me," Moreno emphasized toMartí News.

In March, the authorities of the Pretensado prison, in Santa Clara, suspended visits to inmates due to an outbreak of tuberculosis, the OCDH denounced, according to a report in the newspaperCuba DNA.

The inmates' relatives warned that there were no medicines to treat the disease, according to the observatory.

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