Climate change behind rising dengue outbreaks in eastern Cuba

 GUANTÁNAMO, Cuba, Dec 28 (ACN) The rise in one degree Celsius of the average annual temperature in the province of Guantánamo between 2017 and 2019 favored infestation by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and the transmission of dengue, according to the Provincial Center of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology (CPHEM).
 
CPHEM specialists hold that the main dengue fever outbreaks took place in the humid season, with significant correlation in the tropical humid jungle, grassland and semi-arid climatic strata, a fact leading up to the dissemination of the insect throughout eastern Cuba, made worse by environmental sanitation factors, flawed controls, and the use of unsafe water-saving containers.
 
The researchers, who covered 10,221 suspected cases of dengue fever in nine municipalities, recommended the design of an early warning system based on climate parameters with a view to a more effective use of available resources.