There is growing concern in South Florida as travelers return from Cuba amid mosquito-borne illnesses spreading throughout the island.
CBS News Miami spoke with a man who arrived at Miami International Airport from Cuba after two weeks and said he is still in pain after contracting what he believes is dengue.
Infectious disease expert warns travelers
“There is garbage all over the place that isn’t being getting rid of, which means there is a lot of standing water, and standing water is ideal for the rapid growth of these insects,” said Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease expert.
Dr. Marty said now is not the time to be visiting Cuba.
“It is going to be a long time before traveling to Cuba is not gonna have this problem because it is going to be very hard for them to get rid of unless there’s a radical change in government or economics,” said Dr. Marty.
Unsanitary conditions in Cuba
Green Cross, a nonprofit organization that provides medical care to countries in need, shared a video of a pediatric hospital in Cienfuegos, Cuba, showing deplorable and unsanitary conditions.
“There is no electricity. There is no water. There’s a lack of everything, medication, everything. If you go to a hospital, we don’t know how they could treat you because there’s no medication in Cuba right now,” said Taimy Alfonso with Green Cross International.
What is dengue?
The man who possibly contracted dengue told CBS News Miami that he thought he was going to die.
“Dengue in particular, especially if you manifest severe dengue, is a high risk for having shock and death, and organ failures of various kinds,” Dr. Marty said. “That one in particular is very deadly.”
According to the Florida Department of Health, from Nov.16 through Nov. 22 of this year in Miami-Dade County, there were 23 locally acquired cases of dengue. There were 283 associated with travel to Cuba and 17 in Broward.
Of chikungunya, there were 68 international travel-related cases in Miami-Dade and 12 in Broward. However, Dr. Marty said the situation is well taken care of in South Florida.
“Right now, we have our mosquito population under control. We have an excellent mosquito control program in Florida, one of the best in the United States,” said Dr. Marty.
She added that these illnesses are not directly contagious from person to person. It is contracted, for the most part, through the bite of an infected mosquito.
