Cuban exiles expressed their concern about the possibility of the Oropouche virus spreading in Florida and called on the United States government to temporarily halt travel to the island.
In a report by AméricaTevé, members of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC) in Miami stated that these visits could facilitate the spread of the disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes fever, headache, and other symptoms similar to those of dengue.
The increase in both diseases, with more than 500 Cubans diagnosed with Oropouche, prompted the ARC to send a message to the White House seeking urgent measures.
At a press conference, Dr. Alfredo Melgar, a specialist in internal medicine, urged the authorities and the international community to take stricter measures. It is worth noting that the disease is present in all Cuban provinces.
It also indicated that the spread of the virus poses a great risk and that, furthermore, the situation is complicated by the reminder that the transmitting mosquito is present in Florida.
So far, there are more than twenty cases of travelers who were in Cuba and arrived in Florida sick, and exiles believe that the level 2 travel alert to the island issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not enough.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued an international alert highlighting that there is no antiviral treatment or vaccine against Oropouche and that those infected may progress to aseptic meningitis.
According to the EFE agency, the Cuban exile community also sent a letter to the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniela Levine Cava; to the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, and to the senators Marco Rubio, of Cuban origin, and Rick Scott, according to the statement.
In recent months, up to 8,000 confirmed cases have been detected in areas of South American and Caribbean countries such as Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and Cuba, with no prior history of this virus, which warranted a health alert.
Additionally, the imported cases to Europe in recent weeks through travelers from Cuba are on the rise, according to official data from European health authorities.
A few days ago, it was reported that three residents of the Canary Islands were diagnosed after returning from a vacation on the island, according to sources from the Canary Islands Health Service.
The affected are two men from Tenerife, aged 52 and 36, and a 32-year-old woman from Gran Canaria.
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