Description of the situation
18 June 1997
Disease Outbreak Reported
On 16 June 1997, the Ministry of Health officially reported that 826 cases of dengue (3 deaths) have occurred in the city of Santiago de Cuba, located in the southernmost part of the island. The affected area is 36.5 sq km with a population of 168,000 and the total area of this city of 465,000 inhabitants is 184 sq km. The infections were first recognized in January this year. Dengue has been confirmed by the "Pedro Kouri" Institute of Tropical Medicine, a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for the Study of Viral Diseases. This represents the first reported cases of dengue in Cuba since 1981 when ca. 350,000 cases and 158 deaths occurred. A report with further details will shortly be available.