SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, Jan 6. Health authorities from Santiago de Cuba called for intensifying prevention actions faced with the threat of dengue-transmitter Aedes aegypti mosquito in the eastern province of Cuba, where by the end of 2011 an infestation rate of 0.8 was reported.

Out of the nine municipalities of the province, only the capital city show a rate higher than the former figure which represents the ratio of inspected homes to the findings of the vector’s larvae, whose permissible value should be up to 0.05.

Medical doctor Julio Cesar Popa, director of the Provincial Anti-vectorial Fight and Surveillance Unit told ACN this entails an important risk due to the large number of people settled in this municipality, which has currently the largest population of the country, according to figures from the National Statistics and Information Office.

Dr. Cesar Popa insisted on the importance of strengthening hygiene measures before the arrival of the rainy season and noted that the winter is favorable for eliminating the insect due to the lower temperatures.

Recently, Santiago de Cuba’s health authorities called for holding public meetings in the communities to assess the effectiveness of current sanitary measures and the importance of the role of every neighbor in the campaign to eliminate the vector.

Dr. Cesar Popa said the province is fostering the use of fishes that feed on larvae like the “guajacon”, a small fresh and brackish water fish typical from Cuba, as an effective biologic control method.

Banks of guajacon fishes are under development in different policlinics in the province for their use in areas where infestation risks are higher.

More than 3,000 people and substantial material resources have been mobilized for the anti-vector campaign and despite efforts by the health, political and governmental authorities, the people’s perception of the risk of becoming sick or even die as a result of the mosquito-borne disease is low, warned the doctor.  (acn)