Health authorities deny that the current epidemic is due to a new disease.
14ymedio, Havana, November 13, 2025 — On the Cubadebate page, after the arrival of Hurricane Melissa, the hashtag #FuerzaCuba, which gave encouragement to more than 3.5 million people affected by the rains in the east of the island, still reigns. The slogan could also be applied to the victims of the epidemic that has spread throughout the country and for which, after several weeks, the authorities have decided to give explanations.
To be blunt, at least 30% of the population has been infected at some time, calculates Public Health. The national director of Epidemiology, Francisco Durán García, brought little news regarding the meeting this Tuesday of political authorities and science experts, although he did want to make clear that it is not a new disease or influenza, but dengue and chikungunya.
Chikungunya was emphasized in the television program this Monday, leaving out dengue, which is better known by the population. Its expansion is located – as was said the previous day – in 98% of the north and center of the island, mainly in Matanzas. María Guadalupe Guzmán Tirado, director of the Centro de Investigación, Diagnóstico y Referencia del Instituto Pedro Kourí (IPK), explained that citizens feel more fear at this moment because chikungunya is a relatively new virus in Cuba, transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the same vector for dengue and Zika.
The symptoms can take up to three months to go away and joint pain is severe
The doctor gave extensive explanations about this disease that keeps the island in check, since its symptoms can take up to three months to disappear and the joint pain is severe. Guzmán wanted to settle a very lively controversy about the need to carry out diagnostic tests to determine the suffering and the inability of Cuba to do so due to lack of means. “It is not necessary to perform a laboratory test for every patient with symptoms, as the clinical picture is very typical. Diagnosis by epidemiological link is sufficient for public health notification and action, reserving virological confirmation for specific situations such as the detection of initial circulation, serious or complicated cases,” she said.
The protocols of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) determine, in effect, that laboratory diagnosis is indicated only to identify the beginning of a virus or in specific cases, but not when there is a community outbreak already, as is the case in Cuba, where up to date there are 21,681 cases, according to official sources. This represents a rate of 223.5 cases per 100,000. To get an idea of the dimension, in one of the most recent regional outbreaks (2022), the incidence on the continent was 27.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, with Belize at the top (more than 600), followed by Brazil with 124.
The disease has been rooted in the continent for decades, with a stage between 2023 and 2016 of great virulence, but in Cuba its presence was much more controlled. “It has now reached us, and it may have entered through travelers from places where transmission is maintained,” she said. What has happened to make the situation out of control? One of the things clearly pointed out by the doctor is the disastrous management of garbage. The proliferation of water tanks in homes — which is a response to the poor provision of water service — is coupled with “inadequate management of solid waste and deficiencies in sanitation.”
This accusation was accompanied by the testimony of Madelaine Rivera Sánchez, head of the National Directorate for Surveillance and Vector Control, who cushioned the impact by accusing the “US economic blockade” of the difficulty in acquiring fumigation equipment and repair parts.
She argued that there may be “delay” or “low availability of some medicines” but there is care and beds
“Fumigation teams should soon reach all the provinces,” she said, before asking residents to open their doors to the brigades and insisting that there are only 45 minutes of emissions. “We are back in the same circle if we do not act together,” she said, urging people to keep their homes clean.
Doctor Yagen María Pomares Pérez, Director of Primary Health Care at the Ministry of Public Health, indicated that all patients who have symptoms should be hospitalized, but pointed out that it is not necessary to be in a health facility. “When I speak of hospitalization, I mean that admission may be at home or in primary or secondary institutions.”
However, she defended the health system and argued that there may be “delay” or “low availability of some medicines,” but there is care and beds. “We must assume the same response dynamics that we applied during Covid-19. Chikungunya can lead to death and must be treated with due seriousness,” the doctor warned. “The key from the first symptoms is to maintain hydration and rest, and go to the doctor without self-medicating.”
In addition, Doctor Daniel González Rubio, infectologist of the Instituto de enfermedades tropicales Pedro Kourí, described the symptoms of the disease, especially joint pain, and its stages. After incubation of one week, the acute stage begins, with intense pains and fevers of 40 degrees or more. “This arthritis can make the person an invalid who has difficulty in performing daily tasks,” explained the specialist.
This is followed by the subacute phase, up to three months, with persistent pain, stiffness and possible relapses. In addition, there is a group of patients who evolve to a chronic phase, and their symptoms can last for years.
Durán closed the program saying that clinical trials are being organized and approved to test the drug Jusvinza in chronic cases of chikungunya arthritis. “It’s not that we’re slow, it’s that there’s a process,” he said. In the meantime, “we all need to be actively involved in vector removal and environment management.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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