Havana Cuba. — From the Kilo 5 ½ maximum rigor prison, located on the Central Highway, in Pinar del Río province, inmates report the appearance of several cases of dengue in recent days.
The sources, on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, assure that there are not a few inmates who complain of symptoms such as fever, pain behind the eyes and in the joints, and decay. However, they point out, many of those affected prefer not to go to the doctor because they think it makes no sense, since, anyway, there are no medicines in prison and they do not give them treatment.
The prisoners reveal that the puddles of stagnant water remain in the surroundings of the prison without the penitentiary authorities or any other body with decision-making power drying them up, the leaks or potholes that originate them are not repaired, neither is fumigation carried out nor is any another measure to eliminate mosquito breeding sites or clean up other sources of infection. In the same way, they assure that the penitentiary authorities do not even recognize the existence of dengue cases in the prison.
Due to the above, they are convinced that the risk is increasing, they even foresee that the cases will increase, since not all prisoners have mosquito nets, so they are constantly exposed to contagion.
Kilo 5 ½ would be the third Cuban prison (preceded by El Pitirre and Combinado del Este) from where we have received reports of dengue cases in the month of July.
Last Thursday the Cuban authorities reported that during the third week of July, 4,776 cases of dengue were reported throughout the country, a figure higher than that registered on the Island during the first quarter of the current year.
Figures from the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) indicate that 66.1 percent of the focus is concentrated in the provinces of Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Camagüey, Matanzas and Pinar del Río.
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