How Cuba is fighting Zika

How Cuba is fighting Zika
BY DANIEL CHANG
dchang@miamiherald.com

After Cuba was ravaged in 1981 by an epidemic of hemorrhagic dengue
fever — a mosquito-borne illness — the island nation's communist
government launched an aggressive response that created the framework
for its reportedly successful fight against Zika, according to an
article published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature.

The article reports that as of Aug. 11 Cuba has recorded three people
who were infected with Zika by local mosquitoes rather than contracting
the illness abroad. Cuba's first known local case was reported by the
World Health Organization in March and involved a 21-year-old resident
of Central Havana. The country has recorded about 30 travel-related Zika
cases to date.

Among the country's most effective measures for responding to dengue
fever in 1981 was a heavy fine for Cubans found to have mosquitoes
breeding around their homes, as well as intensive spraying of pesticides
and the creation of a national reporting system for mosquito-borne
illnesses, according to the article.

Source: Zika virus: How Cuba is fighting Zika's spread using history's
lessons | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article96170342.html