As soon as Lucía returned to Cuba from Guyana, she felt a little queasy, but she assumed it was nerves getting the better of her due to the joy of being with her loved ones again. Her child's face and tight hug were a balm for her nostalgia. Amidst so many emotions, she felt gastrointestinal discomfort again that night.
The next morning, she was pale and slightly dehydrated from diarrhea. She couldn't remember the exact number, but she felt like she had only slept a few hours. She blamed it on the welcome meal and the excess fat. In the afternoon, she felt that her condition was much worse.
She felt half-fainted in an armchair when the nurse from her doctor's office arrived. Between scoldings, she realized that she had violated health protocols and, in many ways, exposed her young child to disease.
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Dr. Aldo Cortés González, deputy director of the provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology in Las Tunas, assures 26 that the province strictly controls international health control issues, but emphasizes that citizen responsibility is essential to its success.
"This program is structured by the National Health System and is directed by the Hygiene and Epidemiology area. But it is a program that is applied and enforced from the moment of arrival at the border," emphasizes the specialist.
"When travelers enter Cuba, they are surveyed, checked, and notified that they must attend and report to their family doctor. This is especially important for those coming from regions where there is a danger of contracting communicable and infectious diseases.
"This must occur within the first 24 to 48 hours after the possibility of introducing diseases, many of which may not be seen regularly in Cuba.
ALERTS
"We must be very responsible. Today, cholera is present in some countries around the world, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an alert. Additionally, avian influenza has been reported in various countries, and there are reports of cases in other mammals and humans. Therefore, we must be cautious.
"We want to warn that yellow fever has also been reported, even in countries in the Americas. This virus is mainly found in Guyana, Brazil, Angola, Bolivia, Haiti, and Peru.
When a person returns to the island from these destinations, they must notify their arrival and be very responsible and disciplined in this regard. I emphasize that you must go to the doctor's office or health center to take the necessary disinfection measures.
"These diseases can present with serious symptoms and endanger the life of the person and their family members. Epidemiological surveillance is a shield to safeguard collective health. I insist that the family must be very responsible."
“At the slightest change in behavior, the appearance of fever, frequent visits to the bathroom, no one should be complacent. It is imperative to go to the health system to comply with protocols that sometimes require isolation. In the case of cholera, it is necessary to disinfect the places where the sick patient was.”
The Hygiene Center urges travelers, medical collaborators, tourists, and Cubans living abroad to be honest and aware of their responsibility in the event of introducing a disease into the country. The ability to take care of each other also depends on how disciplined we are in following the protocols dictated by Public Health.
