Francisco Durán García, national director of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) of Cuba, reported that the presence of mosquitoes on the island has increased, along with a rise in diseases such as dengue and oropouche.
"There is transmission in 12 localities, 41 municipalities, and 46 health areas," said the official, referring specifically to dengue, pointing out the provinces of La Habana, Matanzas, Camagüey, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo as those with the highest incidence.
In addition to that situation, there are reported patients in serious condition related to the admissions reported for this arboviral disease.
Regarding the oropouche, he detailed that "most of the suspected individuals have a home address if they do not present a critical clinical picture, and to date, no severe cases or deaths have been reported."
Suspicious cases have seen a significant increase in the provinces of Pinar del Río, Havana, Matanzas, Villa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba during the last week, although they are present in 15 provinces, 103 municipalities, and 184 health areas.
In this regard, Durán gave a somewhat convoluted explanation in which he repeated that oropouche is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes and jejenes of the genus Culex and Culicoides, highlighting that in Cuba, Culex fasciatus can be found "everywhere because it is a mosquito that breeds in sewage water."
"You can imagine, with the difficulties we have with sanitation in many places, it is conducive for them to exist," he also noted about the jejenes, which he said abound in the country without being able to differentiate them.
The proliferation of these arboviruses coincides with the heat present in Cuba, the intense rains, as well as the difficulties in garbage collection in the territories.
He also clarified that there is currently no presence of chikungunya, zika, and Mayaro fever in the country, which are often associated with cases in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
On Thursday, a complaint was made public regarding the hygienic situation in the Mantilla neighborhood of Havana.
Images shared in the Facebook group "Somos Mantilla" show a concerning state of hygiene, with large puddles and weeds growing everywhere.
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under: