Several Cienfuego Residents Hospitalized with Malaria

Several Cienfuego Residents Hospitalized with Malaria / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Cienfuegos/Miami, 10 January 2017 – About a dozen people have
been hospitalized at Gustavo Aldereguía Lima Hospital in Cienfuegos with
a diagnosis of malaria detected in Rodas, a municipality in southern
central Cuba.

The cause of the disease is plasmodium, a parasite that is transmitted
to humans through the bite of the female mosquito part of the anopheles
genus. It is potentially deadly and affects various areas of the planet.

"They are undergoing sanitation efforts. They have eliminated the source
from the Damují River and we are in the middle of an intense fumigation
campaign through the streets," explained a nurse from a Rodas polyclinic
who chose to remain anonymous in the independent press due to fear of
repercussions.

"It is something that cannot be spoken about unofficially. The Health
Minister himself, Roberto Morales Ojeda, has visited the province on
various occasions in the past several weeks," confirms the same source.

Morales, born in Rodas, was at one time the director of the Municipal
Unit of Hygiene and Epidemiology of that town and the municipal director
of health in Rodas and Cienfuegos.

According to a Rodas native who now lives in Miami, alarm has spread
throughout the population, which totals about 30,000 inhabitants.

"Family members call and describe the situation they find themselves in,
but when you look for information through the official press there is
nothing to be found," says the anonymous source.

Malaria is an acute febrile illness. The first symptoms, which include
fever, strong headaches, chills and vomiting, begin a week after the
mosquito bite.

According to the medical literature, if the disease goes untreated
within the first 24 hours, some cases of malaria, such as the one
propagated by the parasite plasmodium falciparum, can escalate, often
leading to death.

Children may show symptoms of severe anemia, sometimes even affecting
the brain. In adults there can also be adverse effects on various organs.

For the spread of malaria to occur, mosquitoes need to have an area
where they can reproduce, specifically, sitting fresh water and big
puddles. Rodas is known as "the village of the Damují," due to the
presence of the river in the lives of the inhabitants. The river, which
empties into the Bay of Cienfuegos, has the perfect conditions for
anopheles mosquito reproduction; hence, the river sanitation campaigns.

Translated by Chavely Garcia

Source: Several Cienfuego Residents Hospitalized with Malaria / 14ymedio
– Translating Cuba -
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