In Matanzas, the health and political authorities came out this week to deny rumors about an alleged “unknown illness” and deaths associated with the current epidemiological crisis due to an arbovirus outbreak.
The minister of Public healthJosé Ángel Portal Miranda, assured during a sustainability meeting of the main municipality that “neither dengue nor chikungunya are new, rare or unknown diseases.”
He stressed that “There are no deaths, no serious or critical cases” due to these causesaccording to the Girón newspaper.
“Everything we are saying has laboratory support. No one can hide an epidemic or the dead,” said the minister, accompanied by the highest authorities of the Party and the Government in the province.
Portal Miranda explained that the rebound in cases responds to the high susceptibility of the population, after several years without intense circulation of these viruses, and to the environmental conditions that favor the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
Massacres in the face of the epidemiological crisis
The health authorities announced a package of measures that includes reinforcement of polyclinics, support with medicines and supplies, sanitation and fumigation actions.
Likewise, they confirmed the incorporation of more than 500 students of Medical Sciences to the research and assistance work.
The objective, Portal Miranda specified, is to “transmit security to the population” and “save lives”, amid the current limitations.
“We have to convey to people that we never stop knowing that we have problems, but that we are doing everything to save their lives. And we have to do that together,” he concluded.
Between trust and disbelief
However, the official message has not dispelled the doubts or discomfort of many Matanzas residents, who on social networks and community spaces They question the transparency of information and the management of the causes of the outbreak.
Although there are no verifiable figures on associated deaths, several network users claim that there have been deaths of people with dengue or chikungunya, some of them with previous illnesses aggravated by arboviruses.
An Internet user wrote under the newspaper article Giron:
“It is outrageous to read how they refer that the proliferation of mosquitoes is due to climate change, when we all know that garbage, leaks and burst pits are the true breeding grounds.”
Another user added:
“I know of at least one deceased person. He had an underlying disease, yes, but if he had not had chikungunya he would be alive. These cases could have been prevented if the Government fulfilled its duties with the population.”
The journalist Yirmara Torres, resident in the province, expressed on her networks:
“No. There are no deaths, but there are. Many families, neighbors and doctors know that. Every day there is more disconnection with what people live. Respect for the people. “Just a little respect.”
A crisis that goes beyond the mosquito
The arbovirus outbreak in Matanzas is part of a context marked by deterioration of sanitation services, shortage of health resources and perception of mistrust towards official information.
The authorities insist that the priority is to “face the causes” through popular participation and optimization of existing resources.
But for many citizens, the problem transcends and is based on a structural crisis of urban hygiene and public management.
Meanwhile, medical teams, health workers and students continue to tour neighborhoods and polyclinics, trying to contain a epidemiological crisis that, according to popular opinion, could have been avoided.
