Cuba Ratifies Actions to Confront Smallpox

Cuba's Vice-Minister of Health, Carilda Peña, confirmed that the national system is currently maintaining the actions aimed at preventing and facing the risk of spreading smallpox, after the appearance of the first imported case on the island.

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Cuba's Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday that an Italian patient, in Cuba since August 15, became the first case of simian smallpox in the Caribbean country.

The patient is in critical condition, with danger to his life. Possible associated causes that may have conditioned his seriousness are being studied.

Epidemiological surveillance has been reinforced at the country's entry points and health personnel were trained for the timely detection of suspected cases.

At a recent high-level meeting of the Cuban government, Peña explained that the flow chart for the care of patients with suspected cases of the disease has already been defined.

Likewise, the measures for the control of the outbreak were established, and it was decided which will be the assistance units to attend the cases with the disease.

There are biosecurity norms for patients, family members and service providers, taking into account the level of contagiousness and the way in which this pathology is spread, said the vice-minister.