Cuba Faces Escalating chikungunya Outbreakโค Amidst Health System Strain
Havana,Cuba – โ A rapidlyโค spreading โคchikungunya โขoutbreak is overwhelming Cuba’s โขalready struggling healthcare system,prompting โcitizen outcry โandโข demands for goverment action. โActivists are organizing aโข letter โฃto authorities,seeking “urgentโข and transparent actions toโ protect our โคpeople and avoid further human losses,” to โฃbeโข delivered next wednesday.
Official figures from โขthe Ministry of Public Health report over โ20,000 infections nationwide, a number โwidely believed to be โconsiderably underestimated โ- potentially doubled โor tripled – as reports ofโข severe cases and deaths โcontinueโค to rise. The situation is particularly โฃdire in Havana, where hospitals are overflowing โand access to diagnosis and treatmentโค is proving tough.
In Sancti Spรญritus, hospitals are reportedly collapsing underโค the strain,โค with families experiencing multiple infections โwithin the same household andโ facing shortages of medicationโ and repellents. The outbreak has also impacted educational institutions, with eight deaths recently reported at the Universidad โฃdeโ Oriente, sparkingโข public alarm. Students claim โคa lack of preventative โfumigation โpreceded โthe fatalities, with healthโฃ brigadesโ only activated after the deaths occurred.
Concerns are mounting over inequitable access to preventative measures, with citizens โreporting โdemands for โฃpayment โคbefore receiving fumigation services – a practice that violates equalโข access toโ public โhealth initiatives.
Thoseโ afflicted โdescribe debilitatingโ symptoms,including prolonged fever,inflammation,loss ofโ appetite,and severe,persistent joint โpain. โA Cuban writer recently characterized the symptoms โas “unbearable.”
The activist-led letter emphasizes thatโ the demand for answers and solutions isโข a citizen’s right, not aโฃ political statement. Individuals wishing to support the effortโฃ are invited to โฃsign with their first and last names. Theโ crisis โขunderscores โthe structural challenges facing Cuba’s public health system and the urgent need for a thorough response.