Pinar del Río is facing a health and epidemiological situation classified as "complex" by its own health authorities, with three active outbreaks of hepatitis and a high infestation of the mosquito Aedes aegypti affecting several municipalities in the western province.
According to Dr. María del Carmen Morejón, provincial director of Hygiene, Microbiology, and Epidemiology, the outbreaks of hepatitis are concentrated in the municipalities of Pinar del Río, specifically in the area of Jagüey Cuyují, Los Palacios, and San Luis, territories that remain in an epidemic zone within the endemic channel.
To contain the disease, authorities recommend manually chlorinating drinking water, a measure that also addresses the ongoing cases of acute diarrheal disease in the area, the official newspaper Guerrillero emphasized on Thursday.
Regarding the mosquitoes that transmit the disease, Dr. Morejón pointed out that "the program against Aedes aegypti is showing high infestation rates, especially in the municipalities of Guane, Mantua, Minas de Matahambre, Viñales, and Los Palacios," while San Luis and Consolación del Sur match the provincial average.
Although the figures are lower than in previous periods, the official warned that "there is a risk of arboviral transmission."
The situation is worsened by a rise in fever syndromes. In the last reported week, these cases increased by 17.8%, with suspected dengue, chikungunya, or acute respiratory processes in the majority of communities.
The municipalities with the highest increase in fever are San Luis, San Juan, Martínez, Guane, Pinar del Río, and Mantua, the source noted.
Authorities also acknowledge difficulties in diagnosing dengue at the municipal level, which is why it has been decided that samples will be sent to the Provincial Center for processing.
The indoor adulticide treatment—fumigation within homes—is currently only applied in Mantua, Minas de Matahambre, and the municipal capital, subject to electricity availability.
"It is a matter of maintaining the indoor adulticidal treatment, as the energy situation allows," Morejón acknowledged.
The self-focal brigades, responsible for eliminating mosquito breeding sites in homes and workplaces, operate with "diminished human resources," although the official clarified that there is no shortage of larvicide for treatment.
In light of the current situation, the provincial director emphasized that "the most important thing is to maintain prevention and screening efforts, to study as many patients as possible to achieve a diagnosis, and to sustain vector control actions, whether through targeted treatment or with adulticides, in those cases where it is feasible to do so."
This situation in Pinar del Río is not an isolated case. Sancti Spíritus has accumulated five consecutive weeks of an increase in suspected dengue cases.
Similarly, authorities in Guantánamo acknowledged in mid-August a worsening due to the increase of Aedes aegypti and deficiencies in the detection of fever cases.
The structural water crisis, with around three million Cubans facing serious water supply issues, along with prolonged blackouts, facilitates both the proliferation of mosquitoes and the transmission of fecal-oral diseases such as hepatitis A.
In June, the Ministry of Public Health alerted about the risk of a new dengue epidemic due to the simultaneous circulation of all four serotypes of the virus in the country.
Cuba ended 2025 with at least 81,909 infections and 65 deaths from dengue and chikungunya combined, according to the Pan American Health Organization.
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