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Following the collapse of the Cuban economy in the early 1990s, epidemiologists in the Cuban Ministry of Health noticed dramatic increases in reported outbreaks of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) in some coastal communities. This article summarizes the results of a comparative case study which applied an ecosystem approach to human health to investigate this issue. Situated learning and complexity theories were used to interpret the results of the investigation. CFP outbreaks are influenced by a complex set of interactions between ecological and socioeconomic processes. This study found that the level of organization of the local sports fishing community and the degree of degradation of the local nearshore marine ecosystem appear to be key factors influencing the diverging levels of CFP outbreaks recorded in the 1990s in the communities studied.

Viral hepatitis ranks as the fifth cause of morbidity for infectious diseases in Cuba. Epidemics are observed frequently in the population, the hepatitis A virus being the main agent responsible for such epidemics. Previous reports also confirmed the circulation of the hepatitis E virus. From 1998 to 2003, 258 serum samples were collected by the Reference Laboratory on Viral Hepatitis during 33 outbreaks of acute viral hepatitis as well as from 39 sporadic clinical cases. Sera were tested for anti-HAV and anti-HEV IgM by EIA. Overall of the 33 outbreaks studied sera from 12 (36.4%) were positive for anti-HAV IgM only, from 7 (21.2%) were positive for anti-HEV IgM only, and from 14 (42.4%) were positive for antibodies to both viruses. Individually of the 258 sera collected, 137 (53.1%) were positives for anti-HAV IgM, 20 (7.8%) were positives for anti-HEV IgM, 33 (12.8%) were positives for both markers and 68 (26.4%) were negative to both. Of the clinical cases, 4 (10.3%) were positives for anti-HAV IgM, 13 (33.3%) were positives for anti-HEV IgM and 5 (12.8%) were positives for both markers. Seventeen (43.6%) sera were negatives for all viral hepatitis markers available (A-E). A high positivity for HEV was found in outbreaks tested with the kit produced by CIGB. In particular HEV seems to infect individuals of all ages. The results demonstrate the co-circulation of and co-infection with two enterically transmitted viruses; however a higher positivity was observed for anti-HAV than to anti-HEV (53.1% vs. 7.8%) in outbreaks.

Durante 1996 y 1997 se llevó a cabo un estudio en 31 ciudades cubanas de más de 35 000 habitantes con el objetivo de determinar si había una relación entre la calidad del agua de consumo y la frecuencia de las enfermedades diarreicas agudas (EDA). Como indicadores de la calidad del agua se establecieron su grado de desinfección (expresado en términos de la concentración de cloro) y su potabilidad (expresada en términos de su contaminación con coliformes), y para evaluar la frecuencia de EDA se examinó el número de consultas a médicos de familia y cuerpos de guardia en los hospitales y policlínicos que fueron ocasionadas por estas enfermedades. Las mediciones semanales de las concentraciones de cloro y las determinaciones mensuales de la cantidad de coliformes se hicieron mediante la toma diaria de muestras de agua en 2 045 puntos clave de las redes de distribución de agua de las ciudades estudiadas. En 1996 y 1997, los porcentajes de muestras con buena cloración (cloro residual > o = 0,3 mg/L) en todo el territorio nacional fueron de 72,4 y 74,8%, respectivamente, mientras que los porcentajes de muestras con poca contaminación (número más probable [NMP] de coliformes fecales A study was conducted in 1996 and 1997 in 31 Cuban cities having a population greater than 35 000, in order to determine if there was a relationship between drinking water quality and the frequency of acute diarrheal diseases (ADD). We used the level of disinfection (based on chlorine concentration) as well as the level of bacterial contamination (based on the presence of coliform bacteria) as water quality indicators, and the frequency of ADD was calculated on the basis of the number of visits (per 100 000 inhabitants) to individual family physicians and to physicians on call in hospitals and polyclinics that were prompted by ADD. Weekly determinations of chlorine concentrations and monthly measurements of bacterial contamination were performed by taking daily water samples at 2 045 key sites along the water distribution channels in the cities included in the study. In 1996 and 1997, the percentages of samples with good chlorination (residual chlorine =0.3 mg/L) for the entire country were 72.4% and 74.8%, respectively, whereas the percentages of samples with little bacterial contamination (most probable number [MPN] of fecal coliform bacteria =9,2/100 mL) were 87.0% and 76.5%, respectively. Logistic regression revealed, at the local level, an inverse correlation between each of these percentages and the number of medical consultations for ADD (per 100 000 inhabitants), although it was not statistically significant. These results allowed the authors to stratify the cities included in the study according to their different levels of risk for ADD: high risk (23 cities), moderate risk (8 cities), and low risk (0 cities).

Acute gastrointestinal illness is an important public-health issue worldwide. Burden-of-illness studies have not previously been conducted in Cuba. The objective of the study was to determine the magnitude, distribution, and burden of self-reported acute gastrointestinal illness in Cuba. A retrospective, cross-sectional survey was conducted in three sentinel sites during June-July 2005 (rainy season) and during November 2005–January 2006 (dry season). Households were randomly selected from a list maintained by the medical offices in each site. One individual per household was selected to complete a questionnaire in a face-to-face interview. The case definition was three or more bouts of loose stools in a 24-hour period within the last 30 days. In total, 97.3% of 6,576 interviews were completed. The overall prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness was 10.6%. The risk of acute gastrointestinal illness was higher during the rainy season (odds ratio [OR]=3.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.18-4.66) in children (OR=3.12, 95% CI 2.24-4.36) and teens (OR=2.27, 95% CI 1.51-3.41) compared to people aged 25-54 years, in males (OR=1.24, 95% CI 1.04-1.47), and in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba (OR=1.33, 95% CI 1.11-1.61). Of 680 cases, 17.1-38.1% visited a physician, depending on sentinel site. Of the cases who visited a physician, 33.3-53.9% were requested to submit a stool sample, and of those, 72.7-100.0% complied. Of the cases who sought medical care, 16.7- 61.5% and 0-31.6% were treated with antidiarrhoeals and antibiotics respectively. Acute gastrointestinal illness represented a substantial burden of health compared to developed countries. Targeting the identified risk factors when allocating resources for education, food safety, and infrastructure might lower the morbidity associated with acute gastrointestinal illness.

Se realizó un estudio prospectivo de pacientes menores de 5 años de edad con diarrea aguda durante el período comprendido entre el 1 de julio y el 30 de noviembre de 2006, para lo cual se seleccionaron los 14 hospitales provinciales de pediatría ubicados en las ciudades cabeceras de cada una de las 14 provincias del país y aleatoriamente 8 policlínicos. Para el diagnóstico de rotavirus del grupo A se utilizó la tira de producción cubana Hebertfast Line rotavirus, que es una prueba rápida (10 a 15 minutos), de un paso para la detección in vitro de antígeno de rotavirus A en heces fecales. Se logró establecer el diagnóstico de rotavirus del grupo A en 730 (42,1 %) de los casos para el país en el período estudiado, con un rango de 19,4 a 74,2 %. Por regiones geográficas, la positividad en la región occidental fue del 36,4 %, en la central de 37,4 % y en la oriental de 50,4 %. La provincia de menor positividad fue La Habana, con 19,4 %, y la de mayor positividad fue Guantánamo con 74,2 %. Por edades simples, los resultados fueron significativos con una incidencia de 67,1 % en los menores de 1 año; 37,9 % en 1 año de edad; 18,8 % para los de 2 años; 9,0 % para los de 3 años y 6,9 % en los de 4 años (p< 0,5). En el mes de julio la positividad fue del 31,9 %, en agosto del 41,5 %, en septiembre del 48,7 %, en octubre del 51,2 % y en noviembre del 61,5% (p< 0,5).