Zika Virus In Cuba: Country Reports First Case Potentially Imported From Venezuela

Cuba was one of the last nations in the Western Hemisphere without any cases of Zika virus detected, until a few weeks ago, when a 28-year-old Venezuelan medical student who was sick, arrived in the island. Shortly after the woman had come down with a high fever and rash, she tested negative for the virus, but tested positive for it a few days later. At the moment she remains hospitalized at Cuba’s main tropical disease hospital in Havana, and is in stable condition.

Despite the fact that the woman’s husband and brother-in-law had come down with the virus, all the he medical professionals who had entered Cuba alongside the woman remain in quarantine with no sign of Zika, health officials said. Also, from the day of her arrival on February 21, to this day, there have been no other cases reported.

After the diagnosis, President Raúl Castro heightened efforts by militarizing the fight to kill mosquitos, assigning 9,000 soldiers to spray for the insects nationwide. In addition, those same soldiers, health workers and police have gone door to door to fumigate homes and businesses for mosquitos.