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The Cuban government included supplies to combat the chikungunya and dengue epidemics in an international request for assistance due to the damages caused by Hurricane Melissa, without specifying that these products were intended to address the epidemic outbreak.
According to documents accessed by the EFE agency, the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) sent a list to some embassies and United Nations agencies on the island that included "large quantities" of chemical products to combat mosquitoes —the vector for both diseases— at a time when the epidemic was already in its most critical phase.
The list is dated October 27, "right during the peak week of the epidemic," although the Government took an additional 17 days to first qualify the outbreak as an 'epidemic', according to the report.
EFE adds that, despite the "evident tension in the hospital system," they did not formally declare any type of health emergency.
The document, titled “Main Needs for Addressing Hurricane Melisa by the National Health Service,” was a four-page table containing “multiple health chapters,” EFE explains.
In the section on “Hygiene and Epidemiology,” the MINSAP specifically included: 200 tons of the larvicide Abate at 1% and 40 tons of the insecticide cypermethrin at 25%.
EFE notes that both are "especially effective" in combating mosquito pests.
According to the report, independent experts consulted by EFE — both Cuban and foreign, from academic and business sectors — agreed that the requested amounts were very high and seemed more aimed at a national campaign than at containing potential outbreaks following a hurricane.
As a technical reference, those specialists indicated that for indoor fumigation using lance applicators ("bazucas"), a common method in Cuba, between 5 and 10 milliliters of cypermethrin per liter of diesel are used; with the requested amount, the calculation cited by EFE would yield between 666,000 and 1,333,000 "bazucas" (of six liters each).
In the case of Abate, EFE states that the usual doses vary between 5 and 50 kilograms per hectare, depending on water conditions; using an average of 20 kilograms per hectare, the requested amount would be sufficient to treat 100 square kilometers of relatively deep water with organic matter.
The text adds that, up to the date mentioned, no country or multilateral agency seemed to have addressed that request "at this specific point."
The Cuban government itself recently acknowledged that the country's crisis had impacted traditional fumigation campaigns and that there were issues with supplies and staff to sustain them.
The arboviruses crisis is on the rise. Health authorities in Cuba reported five more deaths associated with the current epidemic and specified that the total number of deaths during this period has reached 52.
Of the total fatalities, 34 are due to chikungunya and 18 to dengue, as reported on television by Dr. Carilda Peña García, Deputy Minister of Public Health.
Peña García detailed that on this day, 539 cases of chikungunya were reported: 22 confirmed by PCR and 517 suspected.
The total number of accumulated cases is 47,003 (45,351 clinical suspects and 1,652 confirmed by PCR).
He added that the transmission covers 15 provinces and the special municipality, with 132 municipalities and 241 health areas reporting cases.
Regarding the clinical severity, the deputy minister indicated that there were 36 patients admitted to intensive care, with 24 classified as serious (of whom 19 are under 18 years old) and 12 in critical condition, "almost 100%” of whom are under 18, including not only infants and newborns but also teenagers.
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