From our Bureau of Socialist Epidemic Management with some assistance from our Bureau of Latrine American Medical Powerhouses
Never mind the high praise recently heaped on Castro, Inc.’s healthcare by a United Nations official. Cases of mosquito-borne illnesses continue to multiply uncontrolled, and the severity of the cases being reported is also increasing. The current epidemic has spread throughout the entire island, from one end to the other.
And as the piles of uncollected trash grow, so does the mosquito population. And Castro, Inc. claims it has no money to spend on insecticides. Lord have mercy.
Loosely translated from Marti Noticias
The Cuban government continues to struggle with containing the health crisis on the island, characterized by a rise in dengue cases, some of which are severe, and the presence of Oropouche fever in all provinces.
Dr. Francisco Durán, the national director of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), reported at a press conference on Wednesday that there are patients with severe cases of dengue.
“There are hospitalized patients with this arbovirus; some severe cases have been treated, but health personnel are working to prevent complications, as the disease can be fatal,” said Durán, as cited by state media.
He noted that the provinces with the highest number of suspected dengue cases are Havana, Matanzas, Camagüey, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo. He also acknowledged that the disease is being transmitted in at least 12 localities, 41 municipalities, and 46 health areas in the country.
Equally concerning is the outbreak of Oropouche fever, which also saw an increase over the past week. According to Durán, there are suspected cases in all provinces, spread across 103 of the country’s 168 municipalities. The regions that recorded the most suspected cases in the last week were Pinar del Río, Havana, Matanzas, Villa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba.
Although Durán assured that “to date, no severe cases or deaths have been reported,” the disease is a growing concern among Cubans due to widespread shortages of medications in hospitals and pharmacies, making it difficult to access basic drugs to treat symptoms, such as pain relievers. There is also a lack of reagents for blood tests, which are essential for diagnosing tropical diseases.
Durán admitted that the rise in suspected cases of dengue and Oropouche is due, among other factors, to issues with garbage collection, a problem the Cuban government has yet to solve.
In August, the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal, stated that 400 cases of Oropouche had been recorded in Cuba since the virus was detected on May 27. By the end of that month, the number exceeded 500, placing Cuba as the second-highest country in the Americas in terms of cases, only behind Brazil.
The Oropouche outbreak in Cuba has not gone unnoticed in countries like the United States, where 21 cases have already been recorded, all from travelers from the island, according to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cases of Oropouche from Cuba have also been reported in Spain, Italy, and Germany, as recognized by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The high incidence of diseases like dengue and Oropouche, coupled with the government’s inability to curb the outbreaks, has worsened the crisis in Cuba, where nearly nine out of ten people live below the poverty line, according to a report by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH).
If anyone thinks Cuba’s ruling elite ever has to use a hospital like that in the photo, you’re delusional.