In light of the disappearance of state fumigation in many Cuban neighborhoods, a young woman showcased on social media the homemade method she uses every night to try to protect herself from mosquitoes and dengue.
In the video shared on Instagram, the author identified as Betty walks through the living room, kitchen, and bedroom lighting the cartons, letting them smolder briefly, and extinguishing them before introducing them into each space. "Remember when fumigation was normal in our city? Today, that's almost non-existent. With the lack of professional fumigation, mosquitoes are multiplying, and that's why many people today are affected by dengue and other diseases," Betty says in the recording.
The method, which she applies every night before sleeping, includes placing the smoking cartons even under the bed. The author warns that the lit carton should not be brought inside the home: "You have to extinguish it as soon as it starts to smoke."
His final message captures the despair of thousands of Cubans facing state neglect: "Mosquitoes are everywhere, but with creativity we can protect ourselves. Don’t wait for someone to come spray, take action yourself, because that no longer exists."
The video is not an isolated incident. In 2025, Cuba faced one of its worst arboviral epidemics in decades. According to data from the Pan American Health Organization, the country recorded 81,909 infected individuals and 65 deaths due to dengue and chikungunya combined that year, with more than half of the deceased being minors.
The regime itself admitted its inability to respond. In November 2025, the Deputy Minister of Public Health Carilda Peña García acknowledged that the fumigation plan and focal control were not carried out in provinces like Havana and Camagüey, and even recommended burning citrus peels against mosquitoes, arguing that "we have to appeal to everything."
The shortage of fuel, insecticides, and the deterioration of the nebulization equipment were the reasons acknowledged by the authorities to justify the collapse of the fumigation system, one of the most robust in Latin America in previous decades.
In Sancti Spíritus, reports from November 2025 described a "virtually nonexistent" fumigation effort for months, with mosquitoes proliferating even in hospitals.
The method of using burnt egg cartons, however, lacks scientific support. Biologist Romina Barrozo stated to Infobae that "there is no scientific evidence" of its effectiveness and that combustion "can be toxic to humans." The Ministry of Health of Argentina also debunked the method, asserting that "there is no scientific study that proves this claim."
Experts indicate that the smoke generated "does not eliminate mosquitoes nor disrupt their breeding cycle, as it only momentarily disperses them," in addition to releasing particles that irritate the respiratory system.
In January 2026, there were over 2,800 active cases of chikungunya in 134 municipalities across the country, with the disease having spread to all 14 provinces. This indicates that the epidemiological crisis remains ongoing while the regime's healthcare infrastructure continues to be unrecovered.
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