"Dozens of cases of chikungunya" in Cuba

June 18, 2014

"Dozens of cases of chikungunya" in Cuba

Via the Miami Herald, a completely unsurprising report: Cuba confirms
Chikungunya fever cases. Excerpt:

The Cuban Ministry of Health has confirmed the first six cases of
Chikungunya, a painful and often lingering arthritis-like fever that has
been spreading rapidly across the Caribbean for the past six months.
Five of the victims returned recently from Haiti and the sixth returned
from the Dominican Republic, the ministry said Wednesday, indicating
that they were infected by virus-carrying mosquitoes abroad and not in
Cuba.
All are recovering and most were "linked to illicit commerce," the
ministry announcement added, apparently referring to the practice of
traveling abroad to buy cheap goods and selling them for a profit after
returning home.
Independent journalist Mario Hechavarría reported last week that doctors
at a hospital in the eastern city of Holguin had told staffers of dozens
of cases of Chikungunya in various parts of eastern Cuba.
It's pretty clear by now that by next autumn chikungunya will be all
over Central America and Mexico as well as the Caribbean, and it's
likely to have a disastrous effect on the economies of hot-zone
countries. Tourists will start thinking of other destinations, and
Canadian snowbirds—retirees who prefer the warmer winters of Florida and
the US southwest—will doubtless bring chikungunya home with them. At
least we're not likely to see it spreading here.

Source: H5N1: "Dozens of cases of chikungunya" in Cuba -
http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2014/06/dozens-of-cases-of-chikungunya-in-cuba.html