A Cuban identified as Batista Tania published on Facebook a testimony that summarizes the anguish of thousands of patients on the island: she has been bedridden for exactly three weeks due to the virus that is affecting Cuba, without medication to alleviate the pain and without seeing the end of her suffering.
"Today marks exactly three weeks since that horrible and merciless monster invaded my body, the one that is devastating Cuba. A nameless and faceless virus," wrote the woman, whose account is circulating on social media amid the worst arbovirus crisis the country has faced since July 2025, with the simultaneous spread of chikungunya, dengue, and Oropouche.
Batista describes a devastating clinical picture: entire nights without sleep, a pain she compares to "fire burning the bones from within," and relentless cycles of two regular days followed by three or four days during which the discomfort leaves her unable to move.
"You're always surprised by a new symptom or one that recurs, but with the excruciating pain that prevents you from moving. This is no longer living; this is a slow death," he wrote.
What exacerbates their situation—and that of countless Cubans in the same condition—is the absence of medications.
There is no specific antiviral treatment for chikungunya or dengue; management relies on analgesics and anti-inflammatories, which are precisely the medications that are most scarce on the island.
In April 2026, 461 out of 651 medications from the Basic List were unavailable, and a survey conducted in May revealed that only 4.8% of Cubans could obtain medications without difficulty.
"Horrible agony not to have medicine to calm the hunger of that unknown creature that dwells within us," lamented Batista Tania, who admits that when she manages to take an anti-inflammatory, she feels relief, but only for a day.
The chikungunya outbreak reappeared in Cuba in July 2025 after nine years of absence. According to the Pan American Health Organization, during that year alone, there were 81,909 suspected cases and 65 deaths from dengue and chikungunya combined, with more than half of the deceased being minors.
In January 2026, 1,457 additional cases and two new deaths were reported, and reports from AP in August 2026 raised the total number of fatalities to 55: 37 attributed to chikungunya and 18 to dengue.
The crisis is spreading throughout the territory. In June, the Ministry of Public Health warned of a possible dengue epidemic as Matanzas confirmed the first cases of the season.
In July, Villa Clara reported simultaneous circulation of serotypes DENV-2 and DENV-4, and this month Guantánamo acknowledged an increase in Aedes aegypti with the presence of three distinct serotypes of the virus.
The impact transcends the borders of the island: Spain has detected 20 cases of chikungunya originating from Cuba in recent weeks, and Canada has issued precautionary advice for travelers.
The journalist Yoani Sánchez also reported in early August having experienced a feverish condition compatible with chikungunya in Havana, with high fever, joint pain, and chills.
In her post, Batista Tania doesn't ask for compassion for herself; she urges everyone not to look away from those who are suffering. "Don't turn away when you see someone complaining; believe me, what is most needed is support. This leaves you with no spirit and your self-esteem in the gutter," she wrote.
And he concluded with a prayer: "Heal my homeland, I ask you in the name of those who must bear no guilt."
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