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Health authorities in Matanzas reported seven new positive cases of hepatitis and 49 suspected cases in the last week, according to the epidemiological report presented by the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology.
The report was presented by Dr. Andrés Lamas Acevedo, director of the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology, and Dr. Julio Ernesto Hernández Sánchez, provincial deputy director of Medical Assistance.
The municipality of Matanzas accounts for approximately 40% of the annual cumulative cases in the province, followed by Cárdenas, Ciénaga de Zapata, and Unión de Reyes.
In the active outbreak in Versalles, six new suspects were detected during the week, while the outbreak in Cárdenas reported no new cases, and authorities expect to close it on June 19th.
Authorities described the situation as a plateau "with a slight downward trend," featuring isolated outbreaks but no significant clusters, and the cases are scattered and under control.
This scenario arises after months of escalation. In May, authorities classified the epidemiological situation in Matanzas as "complex", linking it to the water supply crisis and irregular solid waste collection.
More than 300,000 inhabitants of the province lack a stable supply of drinking water, as acknowledged by Vice Prime Minister Inés María Chapman, and informal wells doubled between October 2025 and March 2026.
Nationally, the Deputy Minister of Public Health, Julio Guerra, denied that Cuba is experiencing an epidemic of hepatitis, although he acknowledged to the EFE agency a "very complex" situation.
Regarding other diseases, 47 cases of arboviral infection were reported during the week, with Jagüey Grande, Los Arabos, Colón, and Limonar being the municipalities with the highest increase, although it was the week with the fewest cases of this kind in the last six years.
All tests for dengue came back negative, so the authorities confirmed that Matanzas remains free of active transmission of the disease.
In the maternal and child health sector, the province closed May with an infant mortality rate of 7.4 per thousand live births, showing improvements in low birth weight and preterm births.
However, the scarcity of medications such as nifedipine, sodium nitroprusside, and hydralazine hydrochloride poses a risk to maintaining those advancements, specialists warned.
Mario Sabines Lorenzo, the first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party, proposed the use of electric vehicles to overcome the fuel shortages affecting the mobility of healthcare personnel, and urged doctors to seek resources without hesitation: "Do not hesitate to knock on doors; they will always be open for you."
The pattern of recurring outbreaks in Matanzas is not new: since May 2025, clusters have been recorded in the neighborhoods of 13 de Marzo and La Marina in Cárdenas, linked to contaminated water, in a province where the collapse of water and sanitation infrastructure remains unresolved.
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