Dr. Osvaldo Castro Peraza, an expert from the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine (IPK), acknowledged this Thursday during the Round Table a reality that the Cuban government had been avoiding acknowledging publicly: the health system has lost its epidemiological control over the chikungunya epidemic that is affecting the island.
“We have a large number of sick individuals who have not sought help from the health system, and the only way we can now address this situation is by actively reaching out... going door to door,” Castro admitted, acknowledging that the authorities of the Ministry of Public Health do not know how many Cubans are actually infected.
The Silent Collapse of the Surveillance System
What the specialist presented as a mere "difficulty" in counting cases is, in fact, the acknowledgment that the disease is progressing faster than the institutional capacity to record, address, or contain it.
The need to conduct door-to-door surveys reveals that the epidemiological surveillance system, one of the supposed achievements of Cuban public health, is simply not capturing the true extent of the outbreak.
The situation is even more serious than the authorities are willing to admit: Cubans are increasingly turning to self-medication due to a lack of trust in a collapsed system.
"Unfortunately, there is a lot of information on social media, even medical information, and then people decide to self-medicate instead of going to health centers," explained the doctor, indirectly blaming the population for seeking solutions in the face of state failure.
"Calm and Composure": the regime's message in the face of disaster
In a revealing moment, the expert delivered the message that the regime wanted to convey: “I know you are feeling anxious, we must remain calm, we must be even-tempered”.
The request comes amid a crisis that the specialist himself described in alarming terms: entire families incapacitated, individuals who "cannot move," patients at risk of death remaining in their homes.
Castro tried to reassure the population by stating that "the experience we have from other countries" indicates that "this will pass" and that "we are going to have a New Year's celebration."
Empty words for tens of thousands of Cubans facing debilitating pain without access to proper medication.
The perfect storm that cannot be named
The scientist from IPK candidly acknowledged the context in which the epidemic arrived. “The Cuban population did not expect this to happen, especially not in the current situation we are facing: cyclones, blockade, economic crisis.”
A confession that reveals how the economic collapse has left Cuba vulnerable to any health emergency.
The specialist revealed that the island was completely susceptible to the virus, stating, "the entire population was naïve, they had no immunity," and that the disease is almost always symptomatic.
“For every 10 cases infected with chikungunya, nine present clinical chikungunya,” which means that the outbreak is massive, much greater than what the official figures -if they even exist- might indicate.
Contradictory message
While the doctor warns about serious complications such as myocarditis, encephalitis, hemorrhages, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, and acknowledged that "there are high-risk individuals who are staying at home and their lives are at risk," the official message remains one of minimization.
The contradiction is evident, as on one hand there is a call for “calm,” while on the other it is acknowledged that patients with chronic illnesses are at “risk to life” and remain in their homes without the medical care they need, implicitly recognizing that the system has lost touch with the most vulnerable patients.
Castro acknowledged that medications are circulating "through unofficial channels, without a prescription," a tacit admission of the black market for drugs that thrives due to state shortages.
A chronic illness for a sick country
The expert explained that chikungunya is not an illness that resolves in days; it can last for months, with intermittent symptoms that hinder work.
For a country where job pressure is immense and salaries are meager, this means that thousands of families will be left without sustenance for months.
"There is great social pressure; you have to take care of your family, you have to support your family, and so they cannot," the doctor admitted, inadvertently describing the social drama that burdens the citizens.
What the official discourse remains silent about
What the Round Table did not address is perhaps the most important thing:
- How many real cases are there? If the system is not capturing the sick, the official figures are pure fiction.
- Why did the virus arrive now? What went wrong with the surveillance and vector control systems that are supposedly exemplary?
- Where are the medications? The doctor listed treatments, but did not explain why Cubans have to seek them out on the black market.
- What is the real plan? Beyond asking for "calm," what concrete measures are being taken to contain the epidemic?
Doctor Castro's intervention, far from calming, confirmed what many Cubans already knew, that the once praised healthcare system is overwhelmed and disorganized.
The call for "calm and equanimity" sounds mocking when thousands of families are suffering without adequate medical care, without available medications, and without knowing when this nightmare will end.
Once again, the Cuban regime urges the people to endure the consequences of its own ineptitude. And once again, Cubans find themselves alone in the face of the crisis, armed only with their resilience and the information circulating through the very social media that the government now blames for mass self-medication.
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