MÉRIDA, Mexico.- The national director of Epidemiology of Cuba, Francisco Durán, confirmed this Wednesday that there has been an increase in cases of Hepatitis A on the Island due, mainly, to the consumption of contaminated water.
In an update on the Caribbean Channel about the epidemiological scenario in the country, Durán pointed out that Hepatitis A is a digestively transmitted disease, caused fundamentally by the consumption of water contaminated with feces of people who have the disease. disease.
“There is an increase, as there is also an increase in diarrheal disease,” he said.
The usual symptoms of Hepatitis A, he said, are malaise, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes) and low-grade fever.
To avoid contracting the virus, as explained, it is recommended to consume clean foods that are not contaminated. In this regard, he referred to the need to disinfect vegetables, such as lettuce and others that are consumed raw: “They have to be very well washed.”
He also alluded to the importance of boiling or chlorinating water to avoid ingesting contaminated water.
“And the water that people drink, whether it is boiled – we know that the possibility is not strong today – or chlorinated. It exists, work is being done to guarantee the availability of 1% sodium hypochlorite in the pharmacy, with a price that is not very expensive,” he noted.
Dengue and Oropouche continue in Cuba
The specialist noted in the official space that there has been a “discreet decrease” in the incidence rate of suspected dengue cases, but transmission continues in 13 provinces.
“The infestation of mosquitovector of the same which is the Aedes Aegytiit still remains high, a little higher in provinces such as Santiago de Cuba, Pinal de Río, Camagüey, which really corresponds to the environmental situation, since we know that this is raised in any clean water reservoir that we have.”
There are currently six cases in the country serious admitted who do not recover: “It is a disease that can lead to seriousness and unfortunately to death.”
The Oropouche virus also circulates, which, although it is not “as harmful” as dengue, continues to be transmitted in 15 Cuban provinces.
According to Durán, although people argue that the Oropouche It is not so virulent, it leaves them “disrupted,” “because it really causes discomfort that very affected people can feel.”
“This, a vector that we also know, the other mosquito, is the one that breeds in dirty water and you can imagine the difficulties that exist from the point of view of overflowing pits, accumulated water: the infestation remains high in these cases” , he expressed.
