Cuban cholera outbreak spreads to Mayabeque

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• published: 12 Aug 2013
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Cuban populations in various municipalities have been suffering an outbreak of cholera and Dengue Fever. Affected Cubans say the transmission of cholera and Dengue Fever is due to sewage lakes being too close to the population. In spite of multiple reported cases of both diseases, the Cuban authorities and official press have failed to inform the public about this epidemic, and say it is a diarrheal outbreak, rather than an epidemic. [00:00:11,870] The Public Health Directors from municipality of Melena del Sur, in the province of Mayabeque, admitted last week in a meeting with the delegates of the Poder Popular Assembly that some of the towns of that district are on alert stage due to an outbreak of cholera. However, the official press is totally silent. One of our correspondents in Mayabeque visited some of the towns of the municipality, where they were able to take these images, avoiding the police fences that impede taping of videos and taking photographs. [00:00:44,756] This Cuban Red Cross field house was located six kilometers from Guantanamo and confirms that there are outbreaks of cholera. The official mediums of communication have not informed, nor alerted the population. Another Cuban Red Cross field house was located in the town of Tamaulipas, a few kilometers from the municipality of Güira de Melena. [00:01:09,000] One of the sources of this information, who did not wish to be taped, said that more than fifty cases of cholera have been detected; the majority being in the towns of Cajío and Güira de Melena. In the town of Chafarinas, cases of cholera have also been detected, even though the authorities have announced to the population that it is a diarrheal outbreak and will be eliminated in a few days. One nurse, who did not want to be identified, stated that some two hundred doctors have been distributed among the mentioned towns, where they are sheltered in these field houses, from which they distribute medications, attending to the townspeople with symptoms of the epidemic. [00:01:49,523] For Leonel García, a Guantanamo resident, these lakes of sewage waters, is one of the major sources of the transmission of diarrheal illnesses. -These are the residuals that are classified, meaning, and the sewage of all of the buildings of all of the fecal matter of the towns that come and stop here. Next to this side, is the government cooperative, but all of that is flooded by those fecal matters as well, that come out here from the pit and go and stop up to the cooperative that is on the side where they sow fruits and vegetables and food and vegetables. [00:02:30,680] According to García, the proximity of this lake to the community is what multiplies the illnesses. -Five hundred or six hundred meters is the length from here, from that pit to those buildings that are over there. No more than five hundred or six hundred meters. [00:02:45,589] The townspeople of Melena del Sur allege that the increase in cholera cases that has started in the province of Mayabeque about six months ago is due to the heavy rainfall that flooded various towns at the beginning of June and which have spread the epidemic. [00:03:01,679] Equally, in the towns of Guara, Lechuga and Ojo de Agua, of the municipality of Melena del Sur, cases of cholera have been detected, among them, some of dengue. Camera: Prudencio Villalón Report and Editing: Roberto J. Guerra http://www.HavanaSpring.com The Story of Free Cuba Follow us here: Twitter: https://twitter.com/HavanaSpring Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HavanaSpring Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/havanaspring/ Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/10Hg377