Cuba battles dengue fever, Citizens point to failures of government

August 24, 2022

Headlines, Latin America and the Caribbean

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Cuba as registered more than 3,000 dengue fever cases during the first seven months of 2022 and in some areas like the province of Matanzas, all four serotypes are circulating, according to a Marti report.

In fact, in Matanzas, the level of infestations of the transmitting mosquito in the province is the highest in the last 25 years.

The problems concerning dengue have the public pointing fingers at government ineptitude:

Vector breeding sites have increased due to the lack of hygiene in the streets due to inefficient garbage collection, and the accumulation of stagnant water due to blockages in drains and sewers.

The lack of fumigation is another of the aggravating factors of the crisis. For example, fumigation is carried out in tall buildings; however, they only do it on the first floor.

One individual talked of repairs being carried out on a street near her home in that Havana municipality, where the works have become mosquito hotspots.

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“They open a hole, they leave it open right there. Here, two blocks from me, in Subirana, they are opening, supposedly for gas or water, I don’t know. They’ve been at it for two months now, the holes are open there. They open, and they don’t close them anymore, and all the water accumulates there and, logically, the mosquito goes there”.

There are also a lack of hygiene and medical supplies at the hospitals.

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