Related videos:
The Spanish newspaper El País portrayed this Saturday a Cuba plunged into an unprecedented health crisis, characterized by false diagnoses, a lack of medicines, overcrowded hospitals, and an increase in deaths that doctors and families attribute to the simultaneous spread of dengue, chikungunya, Oropouche, and other respiratory viruses.
An extensive report by journalist Carla Gloria Colomé Santiago, based on testimonies from patients and health workers, describes a collapse scenario characterized by the simultaneous outbreak of dengue, chikungunya, oropouche, and other respiratory viruses.
According to the text, Cubans feel trapped in a sick country, where families struggle with severe symptoms without knowing for sure what they are suffering from, and where hospitals are operating at the limit of their capacities.
According to official figures, the last week saw 5,717 new cases of chikungunya, bringing the total to 38,938, while dengue remains active in all provinces and in 113 of the 168 municipalities across the country.
But the information that raised alarms was the 33 deaths acknowledged by the Government, including 21 minors.
Medical sources cited by El País assert that the actual number of deaths is higher and that many death certificates omit the viral cause, attributing fatalities to heart attacks or other underlying conditions.
In cities like Bayamo or Matanzas, residents are reporting recent deaths from dehydration or respiratory failure linked to the infection.
The lack of reagents is one of the factors contributing to uncertainty. Nurses and doctors consulted by the Spanish newspaper confirm that there are not enough tests to accurately identify the type of arbovirosis, while many samples are discarded due to a lack of supplies.
In many clinics, patients receive generic diagnoses of "unspecified febrile syndrome", which hinders proper follow-up.
This is compounded by a shortage of essential medications, with a deficit exceeding 70%, forcing the population to self-medicate with infusions and home remedies.
The report also emphasizes that nutritional deterioration exacerbates clinical conditions. An internal guide from the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine (IPK) recommends diets rich in proteins, dairy, fish, and nuts to combat the effects of chikungunya on the immune system, but these foods are unattainable for most people.
"The food that Cubans have today is ground beef and rice," laments one of the interviewees.
While the Government tries to downplay the seriousness of the outbreak, insisting that it is not exclusive to Cuba and citing regional examples, the accumulation of garbage, lack of water, power outages, and the scarcity of insecticides have created an ideal environment for the proliferation of mosquitoes.
According to El País, official actions came too late to contain a crisis that has already overwhelmed hospitals and morgues, leaving the population engulfed in fear, vulnerability, and physical exhaustion.
The testimonies gathered by the outlet point to a country where "no one is well" and where the exhausted population lives amidst pain, fever, and uncertainty, while seeking answers that the healthcare infrastructure cannot provide.
A few days ago, the health authorities of Holguín admitted that they failed in preventing the mosquito, while the province is facing a complex epidemiological situation with three municipalities in an epidemic phase.
A recent report from the Cuban Conflict Observatory (OCC) and the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba documented at least 87 deaths linked to the arboviral epidemic that has spread across the island between October and November 2025.
Filed under: