The virus is already spreading in 13 of the 15 Cuban provinces
14ymedio, Havana, 29 June 2024 — The Oropouche virus has spread throughout Cuba, fed by the poor hygiene of some neighborhoods, the accumulation of stagnant water due to the rainy season, and the constant blackouts. The authorities have accepted its presence in 13 of the 15 provinces of the Island, excluding Camagüey and Artemisa, where the official press also denied its existence .
In the local presses of the provinces where the presence of the virus has not been officially reported, there are reports from health offices about the existence of Oropouche Fever in their communities, thus confirming the multiple testimonies on social media.
In places like Matanzas an explosion is reported from week to week, with more than 500 cases of the fever from one to the next
“We realized that there were places with a wide explosion of fever cases and we also diagnosed the virus in the municipality of Matanzas (…). There has been an explosion from week to week, with more than 500 cases fever from one to the next. At the end of this week, there are 2,000, and we know that not all of them go to the Health centers,” the provincial director of Hygiene and Epidemiology of Matanzas, Andrés Lamas Acevedo, explained this Friday to the Girón newspaper.
The newspaper Tribuna de La Habana reported on a provincial meeting of directors held this Friday where the epidemiological situation related to the increase in cases affected by the Oropouche virus and dengue was discussed, this despite the fact that the capital is not among the nine provinces recognized by the Government with the presence of the disease.
“We have the experiences we obtained during the confrontation with the Covid-19 pandemic, which is why we must prevent the spread of the disease,” the first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party, Liván Izquierdo Alonso, stressed during the meeting.
According to Tribuna de La Habana, Izquierdo Alonso warned that the contagion indicators are approaching critical numbers, which is why he urged an increase in the control of cases and the search for citizens with fever manifestations.
Since the beginning of June, 14ymedio has revealed the presence of the Oropouche virus in the streets of Havana, where it arrived after spreading to other provinces such as Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos and Mayabeque.
The epicenter of this pandemic is Santiago de Cuba
The epicenter of this epidemic is in Santiago de Cuba, where on May 27, after numerous complaints on-line, the Ministry of Health admitted the presence of Oropouche fever on the Island. Since then, the situation has worsened considerably in that eastern province, where undiagnosed cases, mosquito outbreaks in garbage dumps and stagnant waters, and even the alleged death of a 22-year-old young man have been reported.
One of those who has transparently shared his experience with the disease is the writer Arnoldo Fernández, a resident of the municipality of Contramaestre, who reports, day after day, on his ordeal and the severe pain throughout his body.
“I feel like dying, because the virus viciously attacks my body and I almost give up. I spend the whole day without eating anything, I just hydrate myself again and again (…) the Oropouche virus, although experts do not consider it lethal, is so invasive that it degrades the body as a system, making it the target of a merciless attack towards all its vital functions. If the person is not well nourished, diarrhea, excessive sweating, vomiting and very high fevers put his life in danger,” he detailed on his Facebook wall this Saturday.
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