Cuba maintains active clinical-epidemiological and microbiological surveillance at all levels of care of the National Health System, including border transit, to detect the circulation of respiratory viruses.This was confirmed by the Minister of Public Health José Ángel Portal, who added that although the alert issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to the increase in the world of respiratory diseases caused by Covid-19 cannot be ignored, the current increase of these infections is not significant in the national territory.
The Cuban Minister informed that the epidemiological and microbiological surveillance studies, which are systematically carried out in the country’s laboratory network, show that the circulation of Respiratory Syncytial, Influenza A, Rhinovirus and Parainfluenza viruses is currently preominant.
In relation to Covid-19, he explained in an article published on the MINSAP web page, that in the last two months of 2023 and the days elapsed in 2024, the presence of three subvariants of Omicron have been identified: XBB 1.5, XBB.1.9 and XBB.1.16, classified by the WHO as being of interest or under surveillance.
Portal pointed out that in 2023, the behavior of this disease in Cuba continued its downward trend, no deaths were reported and, compared to 2022, 142,380 fewer cases were diagnosed following studies carried out on at-risk populations and serious patients.
