Madrid/The 25 passengers hospitalized this Thursday for an poisoning on the train that covers the route between Bayamo and Havana evolve favorably, according to the most recent information, offered by the transport ministerEduardo Rodríguez Dávila. The train had to make an emergency stop after a diarrheal outbreak was detected in many of the 653 people traveling inside.
The events occurred during the afternoon of September 18, when the driver stopped the march at the height of Jicotea, in the Villaclareño municipality of Ranchuelo after several of the passengers began to report their discomfort and symptoms of poisoning. According to the General Directorate of Health in the province, emergency services evaluated all travelers to identify other possible infections.
Finally, 25 of them were transferred to hospitals, 20 adults in the Arnaldo Milián Castro de Santa Clara and five children in the pediatric José Luis Miranda. The transport minister facilitated more details about the rest of the passengers, indicating that there were 38 minors, a pregnant woman who was not affected, 485 adults and 159 over 60 who also did not present symptoms. Among the 45 crew members were three intoxicated.
Juan Ramón Jorge Fernández, Vice -Director of Emergency Department of the Hospital, explained that the epidemiological situation is controlled. “The clinical picture presented by all patients is consistent with food poisoning of favorable evolution. No serious or critical cases are reported. The prognosis for all patients is highly favorable, waiting for their progressive medical discharge in the next 24 to 48 hours, once the rehydration is completed and confirmed by their clinical stability.”
/ Henry Omar Pérez
“Fortunately, passengers are not reported in serious condition. The situation is stabilized thanks to the rapid response of health institutions and local authorities,” added Rodríguez Dávila, according to whom the authorities of the party and the government in the province went to the area, as well as the railroad managers in Villa Clara.
The minister also explained that the train followed his journey to Matanzas, where he arrived at 8:30 pm, and continued towards Havana, with an arrival time scheduled for 11 at night. The authorities of both provinces were contacted to maintain coordination with possible cases that may arise in later hours. Meanwhile, those affected by the outbreak will be conducted on buses to their final destinations when they are discharged.
The official promised to offer more information about the causes of the event as investigations advance, receiving a barrage of almost 400 comments in which Rodríguez Dávila is praised again for his capacity for response and the transparency of which the rest of the government lacks, according to a large number of users.
“The Minister of Transport, is an example of what all our leaders should be to all the levels of the country, with total simplicity, and transparency, always worried and busy on each occasion” or “is the only one who maintains, as far as I know, direct, clear, clear, precise and blunt contact with the people. Many favorable comments he received.
Apart praises, rumors began to unleash the first minute and several people questioned what is happening so that there are so many incidents in rail transport and opened the door to insinuate that it is attacks on the sector. The majority, however, questioned the quality of the products offered in the trains, whose supply is no longer in the hands of the extinct service company on board and depends on the Ministry of Internal Commerce and the agreements it makes.
Among the commentators not a few refer to the poor conservation of snacks and drinks, which are not refrigerated in a journey of so many hours, and others refer to the poor state of the toilets. “I have had the joy of trains and I have noticed that there is poor hygiene in the bathrooms. Of course, in this case it should be that they ate something, but apart from taking measures, since in almost all the wagons were the bushy baths and without solution,” adds a user.
The official reporter Henry Omar Pérez Documented on his Facebook profile – the first to inform the fact – the help that the residents of Jicotea gave to the travelers during the time that the train was detained. “Some cooked soups and broths, others carried water, blankets and toys for children. Social workers coordinated the aid, ensuring that no one was homeless. The authorities of Villa Clara and Ranchuelo supervised every detail, but it was the town that became a volcano of solidarity,” he explained.
