Dengue, chikungunya and oropouche are hitting neighborhoods such as Versalles, La Playa and Pueblo Nuevo amid the shortage of medications
14ymedio, Matanzas, Julio César Contreras, September 24, 2025 — In Versalles, Matanzas, the count is made house by house. “There are three patients living there, two in this one, including a child, and here we now have four with symptoms,” describes a neighbor while pointing his finger at the crumbling facades of the neighborhood. Uncertainty spreads with the fever: no one knows for sure which virus is knocking them down, and the shortage of medications further fuels the fear.
On Tuesday morning, several health centers in the city opened with crowded emergency rooms. Patients with headaches, high fever and general discomfort filled the corroded metal benches of the emergency rooms, such as the one at La Playa Polyclinic where Isaac seeks answers. “It’s been three days since I got rid of this pain behind my eyes. I did not want to come here because it wastes the whole morning and they don’t have medicine, but I really feel bad,” confesses the 43-year-old man, who also suffers from diabetes and hypertension.
The health authorities have already confirmed what was feared: dengue, chikungunya and, to a lesser extent, oropouche are circulating in Matanzas. Isaac’s statement reflects the vulnerability of thousands. “Since 2023 we have no family doctor available. What we do have is a garbage dump at the corner of my house, near El Tenis, and a ditch with sewer water. With so much dirt, it’s a miracle that we’re still alive,” he says angrily.
“Since 2023 we have no family doctor available. What we do have is a garbage dump at the corner of my house.”
Just a few days ago, TV Yumurí published on Facebook an epidemiological alert for the city of Cárdenas that triggered alarms in the population, due to the circulation of viruses transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The report warned about “the high incidence of chikungunya, taking into account the disability it causes in people, while a second variant of dengue is also circulating.”
The same scene is repeated In the city of Matanzas. The virus has hit hard in Versailles, La Playa and Pueblo Nuevo. Nancy knows it well: last night her 11-year-old son developed a fever and leg pains. “I understand that these are symptoms of chikungunya, but he already had dengue last year and was hospitalized. I was afraid that he would vomit again like last time and brought him immediately to a pediatrician,” she recounts, holding the little boy’s hand.
Andrés Lamas Acevedo, director of the Provincial Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Matanzas, denied that there was a mysterious disease in Cárdenas, after weeks of reports of communities decimated by a condition that the sick describe as very debilitating, causing joint inflammation, high fever and general discomfort. The local press has acknowledged that “last week was the highest number of fevers this year” in the province.
For his part, Doctor Julio Ernesto Hernández Sánchez, director of Medical Assistance in the province, said that there are 298 beds for patients with dengue, distributed in various areas, from minimum to critical care. However, the scene inside the Hospital Pediátrico Eliseo Noel Caamaño reflects another reality: “They did not want to treat me because it doesn’t give remission. Right here, in a provincial hospital, they don’t even have syringes in the emergency room. So what can you expect from a polyclinic? I’m not leaving here without a diagnosis and treatment,” protests Nancy.
As if that were not enough, the population faces a health crisis from the prolonged blackouts and the shortage of drinking water, which makes it difficult to maintain household hygiene. A resident from La Marina denounces the official improvisation: “When the situation gets worse, they say they will fumigate. That lasts as long as the fuel. After that, nothing.” He lives in front of a huge pool of stagnant water that covers all of Jovellanos street, a mosquito breeding ground. “My son and daughter-in-law are in the hospital with joint pain. The cause is right under our noses,” he says.
The Provincial Health Directorate warns that, according to historical trends, cases will continue to rise until October, when a plateau will be reached and then, hopefully, a decline. But Manuel is suspicious: “This can only be solved with a complete sanitation of the city. If not, it will get out of hand and become an epidemic.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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