What The U.S. Could Learn From Cuba About Ending Zika

Cuba has successfully held off the Zika epidemic and in the process all but eliminated Dengue fever and other mosquito-carried illnesses, state-run media reported on Tuesday. Public Health Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda told a Council of Ministers meeting that a series of measures taken this year to eliminate the Aedes strain of mosquito that carries Zika and other viruses had drastically reduced infestations. There had been no infections, he said, since one locally transmitted case, the country's 14th, was reported on March 15. Cuba has called out the military to help fumigate, activated neighborhood watch groups to check there is no standing water, where the insects breed, instituted health checks at airports and other entry points to the Caribbean island, among other measures. A source in the health ministry, with access to epidemiological data, told Reuters last week that there was no Zika transmission. "We are all over it. Every time someone enters the country from Brazil or Venezuela or wherever and comes down with Zika, more than 20 cases so far, we isolate them and check their neighborhoods," the source said, asking not to be identified as the information is considered classified. The source has contradicted official reports in the past due to the individual's concern for public health. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental probl...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news