The Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) warned this Wednesday that children are a risk group in the current epidemic of dengue and chikungunya, with 10 minors currently in “critical” condition.
The vice minister of the Minsap, Carilda Peña, pointed out on television that the number of patients in intensive care decreased, reporting 77, eleven less than on Tuesday, but insisted that those most affected continue to be those under 18 years of age, according to a report from EFE.
Peña said that of these two arboviruses that circulate in the country, chikungunya maintains the largest number of cases, with a cumulative total of 39,600 infected. He did not offer an exact number of dengue infections.
About half of those infected with chikungunya have been reported in the month of November, since the accumulated number from 2025 to October was 20,062, according to data released by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), cited by the Spanish agency.
Last week alone, 5,717 new cases were reported.
“Complicated situation”
Health authorities have recognized that the country is in a “complicated situation” due to the dengue and chikungunya epidemic, and they project an “unfavorable” evolution of the outbreak in the coming weeks.
On Monday, the Minsap confirmed a total of 33 deaths from chikungunya and dengue, of which 21 were minors. He has also admitted that official statistics are under-recorded, since a good number of patients do not go to hospitals for treatment due to lack of medicines.
The Cuban Government recognized for the first time on November 12 that the country was suffering from a chikungunya and dengue epidemic, despite the fact that the first cases were diagnosed in July and that infections had skyrocketed in September and October.
The epidemic has found fertile ground to spread due to the serious economic crisis that the country is suffering, which limits the capacity for prevention – mainly through massive fumigation against mosquitoes -, control – with tests to confirm the type of disease – and care for the sick, due to lack of medicines, the Spanish agency points out.
