Cuba Maintains Epidemiological Surveillance During Summer Season

Cuba's Ministry of Public Health today maintains epidemiological surveillance, considering that the summer season brings vector-borne diseases such as dengue and other arboviruses.

Carilda Peña, vice minister of the aforementioned portfolio, drew attention to various environmental problems that favor the proliferation of these diseases, including the accumulation of solid waste and water leaks.

The vice minister also warned about the circulation of all four dengue serotypes, the reemergence of yellow fever, the concerning behavior of hantavirus, and the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

"If all four serotypes are circulating, evidently when one becomes predominant in our health picture, we could have localized outbreaks of the disease. If we do not carry out a set of actions, we could have an epidemic," Peña argued on the radio-television program Mesa Redonda on Cuban Television.

Regarding chikungunya, Cuba has already gone through what the region is experiencing today, Dr. Peña specified.

Given that the Greater Antilles maintains exchanges with Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru, it is vital to strengthen surveillance of yellow fever due to its high lethality.

Regarding hantavirus, the vice minister reported that the main rodent vector has not been detected in Cuba, and concerning Ebola, she highlighted the Caribbean island's experience in combating it in other latitudes. At this time, there is an ongoing response to that disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Currently, Cuba maintains its active surveillance systems in ports, airports, and primary care.