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The accelerated increase of nonspecific febrile syndromes and the simultaneous circulation of dengue and chikungunya place Las Tunas among the most affected provinces in the country, according to recent data from the Ministry of Public Health.
The acting Director General of Health, Yumara Acosta García, acknowledged that the region is experiencing an "increase" in cases of fever and confirmed cases, particularly in four municipalities, with an epidemiological burden that is growing faster than the ability to control it.
The Health areas of the provincial capital, Puerto Padre, Majibacoa, and Amancio are facing the most complex situations. An upward trend is also reported in Colombia and Jobabo, as stated by the provincial newspaper 26.
According to the official, part of the increase is due to a change in community research, as many patients remained in their homes without reporting symptoms, which resulted in a significant underreporting.
The mobilization of the University of Medical Sciences and other stakeholders allowed for the emergence of hidden cases and the activation of differentiated actions for vector surveillance and control.
The area is currently in the second phase of adulticide treatment and aims to cover 100% of urban areas during the week, with an emphasis on indoor treatment in high-risk blocks.
However, the directive emphasized that no strategy will be effective without family self-focusing; without eliminating breeding grounds, the hatching of infected eggs makes it impossible to curb the viral spread.
However, Acosta avoided mentioning the lack of control and poor government management regarding garbage collection, the dumping of waste, and the persistent leaks in the hydraulic infrastructure.
In the hospital setting, the reorganization of services prioritizes newborns, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers, with strict protocols in pediatrics and bed-to-bed monitoring at the Ernesto Guevara General Teaching Hospital.
All pregnant women with symptoms are being admitted, especially those at term, due to the transplacental transmission of chikungunya.
Newborns receive PCR testing at birth and subsequent checks. Puerto Padre will regionally take in patients from Jesús Menéndez, while rooms for asymptomatic pregnant women living in areas of active transmission are being prepared, the source emphasized.
The official warned that infants under two years old must be admitted to the pediatric hospital, due to the inability of many families to identify warning signs.
In addition, health authorities monitor all children classified as high risk on a daily basis.
The authorities emphasized the need to raise awareness about the risk, as dengue can be fatal if not addressed in a timely manner, and chikungunya causes highly debilitating symptoms.
The delay in seeking medical attention is causing severe complications in individuals over 65 and in children, groups that are already presenting serious cases, the news outlet noted.
The sector claims to have created "basic conditions" to respond, but emphasizes that self-responsibility is crucial to preventing an epidemiological collapse.
The described scenario reveals a contradiction that authorities scarcely acknowledge: the outbreak is not growing "out of nowhere," but rather from a starting point that was never accurately measured.
The underreporting not only distorted the actual curve but also delayed critical interventions and allowed arboviruses to spread before control responses were activated.
The province is not facing a simple resurgence, but rather the accumulated gap between effective transmission and the state's ability to address it in a timely manner.
In this regard, the official press in Ciego de Ávila acknowledged days ago that the institutions reacted too late to the current arbovirosis crisis when neighborhoods were already reporting sick individuals, in addition to failures in epidemiological surveillance and sanitation that allowed the transmitting mosquito to spread unchecked.
Similarly, the health authorities of Holguín acknowledged that they failed in the prevention against the mosquito, while the province is facing a complex epidemiological situation with three municipalities in epidemic phase.
The General Directorate of Health in Sancti Spíritus acknowledged at a press conference the deaths of two individuals this year due to dengue and chikungunya, one of whom was in pediatric age, although the exact age was not specified.
Last week, the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) reported on 33 fatalities due to mosquito-borne diseases, of which 21 were due to chikungunya and 12 to dengue, according to official data released by the state media. Most of the victims were minors.
However, a report from the Cuban Observatory of Conflicts (OCC) and the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba documents at least 87 fatalities related to the arbovirus epidemic spread across the island between October and November 2025.
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