Cuba has reported 47 deaths due to arboviruses, following the report of three more fatalities in the last day: one from dengue and two from chikungunya.
The information emerged this Friday on the television magazine Buenos Días, where Deputy Minister of Public Health Carilda Peña García appeared.
According to the report, the National Health System recorded 1,417 new cases of chikungunya, of which 38 were confirmed, while the incidence rate of suspected dengue cases stood at 12.5%, higher than that reported the previous day.
The official also pointed out a decrease in the number of severe and critical patients in Intensive Care.
The end of the day concluded with 53 patients in that category, two fewer than in the previous report.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that the largest number of people classified as severe or critical corresponds to those under 18 years old.
In his message, Peña García emphasized self-care and not staying at home with a sick child —including newborns and children at any stage of life— stating that, according to analyses by experts and scientists in Cuba and around the world, the child population is “very vulnerable” to experiencing severe forms of these diseases.
Chikungunya, transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, has left a growing number of patients suffering from chronic pain in Cuba.
In Santiago de Cuba alone, children and adolescents account for nearly 65% of serious patients hospitalized due to arboviral diseases, in a context marked by the simultaneous circulation of dengue and chikungunya and a high health risk.
The epidemiological situation in the eastern province has authorities on alert, with a particularly significant impact on the child population and in a scenario that is already being described as a syndemic due to the coinciding cases of dengue and chikungunya.
Of the 101 people hospitalized due to arbovirosis, 66 are pediatric patients who have required intensive care, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the severe cases treated, confirmed the official newspaper Sierra Maestra.
According to executives in the sector, the most affected groups continue to be the elderly and children, including newborns, who have shown aftereffects such as encephalitis and skin complications.
In the last week, four critical cases and three severe cases were reported among individuals under 19 years of age, in addition to a pregnant woman with related complications.
Health authorities acknowledged that deaths have occurred, primarily due to complications arising from arboviral diseases and not directly from the virus, without providing figures, and emphasized the importance of early medical attention to prevent fatal outcomes.
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