Cuba Identifies First Patient Infected with Local Zika Virus

Cuba had already reported four previous Zika cases, all related to persons who contracted the disease in Venezuela

 

Cuban Health authorities announced Tuesday the first case of Zika contracted inside the island.

A 21-year-old woman residing in the Havana municipality of Centro Habana and who had not been abroad reported symptoms on March 7 and was hospitalized following a test for Zika which proved positive. The woman remains in Hospital without symptoms, according to the announcement read on Cuban TV.

Cuba reported four previous Zika cases, all related to persons who contracted the disease in Venezuela. The island reported its first case on March 2, making it one of the last nations in the region to report the virus.

Zika was declared an international health emergency on February 1 by the World Health Organization.

Cuban authorities have deployed an island-wide program to fight the mosquito Aedes, which transmits the disease. The comprehensive program includes educative TV announcements, direct talks with the population, intensive fumigation of homes and neighborhoods, and
sanitation.