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The healthcare crisis in Cuba is worsening. Sancti Spíritus, located in the central region of the country, is experiencing an alarming rise in dengue cases and an increasing spread of chikungunya, as admitted by the official newspaper Granma.
The report, presented as a part of "reinforcement of epidemiological surveillance," actually reveals the depth of a problem that is spreading uncontrollably throughout the country: the expansion of the Aedes aegypti mosquito due to the lack of fumigation and effective measures by the State.
According to health authorities, the province of Sancti Spíritus is now ranked fifth in Cuba due to its high incidence rate of dengue, with active transmission occurring in at least two health areas—Trinidad and the provincial capital—and the presence of symptoms compatible with chikungunya in nearly all municipalities.
However, the official discourse, focused on urging the population to "self-focalize" and maintain hygiene at home, once again places the responsibility on citizens, while state vector control programs remain inactive or merely symbolic.
Dr. Yurien Negrín Calvo, deputy director of Epidemiology at the Provincial Hygiene Center, acknowledged the increase in febrile patients and suspected cases throughout the region. However, her diagnosis is limited to describing the situation without providing concrete solutions.
"Special attention is given to specific actions to curb the transmission," he said, although in the neighborhoods, residents of Sancti Spíritus claim that fumigation has been almost nonexistent for months and that mosquitoes are proliferating even inside hospitals.
The director of the same center, Carlos Ruiz Santos, emphasized that "more than 80% of the detected hotspots are within homes," but he omitted to mention that the lack of resources, fuel, and insecticides—acknowledged by him—prevents the State from conducting effective sanitation campaigns.
The population, meanwhile, is dealing with the outbreaks using covered buckets of water, citronella candles, and home remedies, without medical assistance or available medications.
On a national level, the situation is no less serious.
The Deputy Minister of Public Health, Carilda Peña García, recently confirmed the presence of more than 20,000 cases of chikungunya in Cuba, as well as a notable increase in dengue and other arboviral diseases.
The most affected provinces—Havana, Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Artemisa, and Villa Clara—account for 62% of the outbreaks of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
The Ministry of Public Health itself acknowledges "limitations of resources," but attempts to gloss over the disaster with terms like "active search for febrile cases" or "international solidarity."
Outside of the official discourse, the reality is different. Social media is filled with reports of entire families falling ill, neighborhoods infested, and overwhelmed hospitals.
Citizens report that the fumigation service is inconsistent, that many brigades demand payments to prioritize certain households, and that healthcare facilities lack even thermometers, IV fluids, or analgesics.
Complaints are also multiplying against the local management, accused of hiding the magnitude of the outbreaks to avoid political sanctions.
The Pedro Kourí Institute (IPK), a national reference for tropical diseases, acknowledged that the increase in infections is due to the "low immunity of the population" and the intense circulation of the virus, factors exacerbated by the decline in health conditions and the lack of sustained preventive campaigns.
Experts consulted outside of Cuba indicate that the country is experiencing the worst epidemiological scenario in the last decade.
Meanwhile, the government insists on its triumphant narrative: it speaks of "reinforcing surveillance" and "intensive actions," but the visible reality in Sancti Spíritus - and in almost all of the Island - is one of abandonment, improvisation, and helplessness.
Mosquitoes do not wait for speeches, and Cubans, exhausted by the economic and healthcare crisis, face an epidemic alone that spreads at the same pace as official indifference.
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