Cuban health authorities have launched a small-scale fumigation Attempt in Havana on Friday to fight the spread of the Oropouche virus, however, it seems their efforts are futile as rainy Caribbean summer, fuel shortages and growing roadside trash heaps are muddling up those efforts, according to the workers and officials.
Over 500 cases of the virus have been recorded since May when the disease was first reported in far-eastern Cuba, according to health officials.
The virus, otherwise known as sloth fever, is transmitted through the bite of mosquitoes and midges and is quickly spread across all of the country’s provinces and major cities, including the capital city of Havana.
Infected patients complain of fever, body aches and nausea, though the disease is hardly lethal.
Fumigation workers have been using hand-held, gas-powered blowers fired smoke into dark corners and alleyways to curb the spread but those efforts have been inhibited, partly due to limited resources.
What They’re Saying
“In the past, all the blocks were fumigated every week … but now, due to fuel (shortages), they focus on specific cases where (fever outbreaks) occur,” said Havana fumigation worker Luís Aguilar.
U.S. health authorities earlier this week said 21 U.S. citizens who had visited Cuba during the summer months returned home with cases of Oropouche.
Cuba has reported relatively few cases compared to other countries, including Brazil, where the virus is also present but has no recorded fatalities.
As it stands, Economic crisis and shortages of fuel, food and medicine have hampered efforts to control the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses like Oropouche and Dengue fever, but the constant power outages mean that many residents sleep with windows open during the hot Caribbean summer as only few Cubans have access to insect repellent.
Trash heaps have doubled in size on street corners, which, intwgrated with the summer rains, provide ample breeding grounds for biting insects, according to the authorities.
Currently, there are no specific treatments or vaccines available for Oropouche.
