With COVID-19 still present, the world is currently facing other public health events such as monkeypox, acute hepatitis of unknown origin, which affects the pediatric population, and respiratory infections.
By María Josefina Arce
With COVID-19 still present, the world is currently facing other public health events such as monkeypox, acute hepatitis of unknown origin, which affects the pediatric population, and respiratory infections.
PAHO, the Pan American Health Organization, has warned in recent days of an increase in the number of cases of the disease caused by the new coronavirus in the Americas and the risk the region faces from these other ailments.
Since the first cases of both viral hepatitis and monkeypox were reported, Cuba has been on alert and follows the behavior of these two diseases in the world.
Cuban health authorities immediately activated the entire epidemiological surveillance system, a practice, let's remember, that is a pillar of our consolidated health system.
This is how it has always worked, which has made it possible to prevent and act quickly in the event of the entry of various pathogens into the country. In March 2020, this system made it possible to identify the first cases of COVID-19, detected in tourists coming from the Italian region of Lombardy, and to adopt the required measures.
Epidemiological surveillance not only operates within our borders, but also throughout the national territory. The investigations carried out by health personnel, which included medical students, made it possible to provide rapid and adequate care to those infected and to isolate the suspects in order to stop the spread of the virus.
In addition, two months earlier Cuba had designed and started to implement the Plan of Measures to Confront COVID 19, which involved all the agencies of the Central State Administration, companies, the non-state sector and the population in general.
Now it is no different and the Ministry of Public Health already has plans for confronting monkeypox and acute hepatitis, which, as stated by the Minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal, have never been confronted in the country.
Likewise, as two years ago, workers in the sector are being trained to be in better conditions in case a case is diagnosed.
So far Cuba remains free of these ailments. More than 30 children with hepatitis have been studied and none of them, after the corresponding tests, was classified as a carrier of this acute disease.
According to the authorities, people with skin lesions similar to those caused by monkeypox have also been studied, but the tests performed showed that they were due to other diseases.
However, Cuba remains alert with its epidemiological surveillance system activated, in order to provide prompt and adequate medical attention to the possible presence of these diseases and to protect, as is its objective, the health of all citizens.
