Dr. Durán returns to his daily television program to report on the arbovirus epidemic.
14ymedio, Havana, November 19, 2021 — A total of 63 patients are in intensive care units in Cuba due to chikungunya, including 19 minors in critical condition. This information comes from Dr. Francisco Durán, Director of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Public Health, who reported on Wednesday on what the government continues to call a “complex epidemiological situation” during the state television program Buenos Días.
The official’s report reveals the severity of the health crisis the country is experiencing, especially regarding chikungunya. He noted that 3,103 suspected cases of the disease were reported this Tuesday, “a high number for a single day.” He added that there are currently 2,216 diagnosed patients, of whom 126 are hospitalized.
Durán García acknowledged that this arbovirus – present in 14 provinces – is currently the main health problem, due to the number of infections and the severity of the symptoms, “which are extremely painful.”
This Tuesday, he noted, 3,103 suspected cases of this illness were reported, “a high number for a single day.”
This Tuesday, a report from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) indicated that Cuba registered an average of 700 new daily cases of this outbreak in October, the vast majority in Havana and Matanzas.
Regarding dengue fever, the specialist said that only 344 new cases were reported, although he did not provide total figures. In his appearance on Canal Caribe, where he will have a segment starting this Wednesday to report on the “fight against these arboviruses,” as he did previously for the COVID-19 pandemic, he also spoke about oropouche, and assured viewers that no new patients have been detected since September.
Furthermore, on Tuesday alone, 1,706 patients with “nonspecific febrile syndrome” were reported in the country, and it was noted that 3,226 people received medical attention, 16% of whom are hospitalized. Regarding the total number of cases, it was confirmed that 47,125 patients are currently hospitalized with one of these viruses.
The national director of Epidemiology acknowledged that the infection figures for both illnesses reported by the authorities “do not always correspond to reality,” because many sick people do not go to medical services and, therefore, are not officially registered.
He also reported that the Aedes aegypti mosquito infestation remains at 0.70%, a figure he described as “high,” as it implies “significant transmission possibilities.” Despite fumigation and larvicide application campaigns, the official himself admitted that the actions “remain insufficient.” He explained that, in many cases, the brigades lack sufficient personnel or that the equipment used to carry out these tasks is either unusable or “broken.”
In response, he accused the authorities of not carrying out these campaigns in places like Sancti Spíritus, Matanzas, Pinar del Río and Artemisa, especially since “these provinces have a high transmission rate.”
On the other hand, he denied the presence of the West Nile virus in the country, assuring that the Institute of Tropical Medicine “has not diagnosed any cases” after carrying out hundreds of tests, although he conceded that other arboviruses are circulating on the Island.
“Arboviruses. Which ones? We can’t know because there’s no reagent.”
The official, however, did not report on the number of deaths in the country from any of these illnesses. The last officially reported figure was three, a month ago. However, both the high activity at funeral services, reported by this newspaper , and numerous social media posts contradict this.
A Facebook post from Tuesday, for example, tells the story of a 24-year-old teacher who died without a clear diagnosis but who, “like many, her only ailment for three months and a little more was ‘some arbovirus’.”
Regarding the lack of diagnosis, the user asks in the message: “Arboviruses. Which ones? We can’t know because there’s no reagent. How to treat them? With whatever you can manage and plenty of fluids, which doctors say are good for everything. Of course, if you’re getting water, the fact that it’s colored doesn’t mean it’s not potable, according to the authorities.”
The complaint was also directed at the institutions, given their lack of answers. “We don’t know; no institution in our country is designed to answer the people’s questions. Their function seems to be to justify every action,” he said, also pointing the finger at doctors for not reporting the lack of supplies and for “their lack of precise knowledge about what has been ailing the people for some months now. We don’t know; perhaps no one wants to take responsibility.”
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