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Recognized Cuban and international experts are gathering in Havana today through the 18th, at the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine, for an update on the current situation of dengue and other arboviral illnesses.
The objective of the XV International Course on Dengue is for doctors, virologists, immunologists, sociologists, epidemiologists, entomologists, healthcare administrators, and academics, among other Cuban and international professionals, to discuss the most important issues regarding diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, including along with dengue, zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever.
According to the IPK, those who have confirmed their participation include experts from the Pan American and World Health Organizations, Sylvain Aldighieri, Mathieu Bangert, Haroldo Becerra, Marcos Espinal, Florence Fouques, Leticia Franco, and Gamaliel Gutiérrez.
Attending are representatives from Canada, Colombia, Argentina, United States, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, Venezuela, Brazil and Switzerland, in addition to professors from the IPK, Cuba’s Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center, the University of Havana, and the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap).
Among the issues to be addressed are the clinical management of patients, vector control, research, anti-viral vaccines, the impact of individual genetics and new tools, according to the IPK website.
Sponsored by the Cuban Society of Microbiology and Parasitology, Minsap and PAHO/WHO, the event is taking place 30 years after the first such gathering at IPK, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary.
Although the epidemiological situation in Cuba is currently better than it has been on other occasions during the summer months, Minsap continues to warn of the danger of mosquito borne diseases, as heavy rain and high temperatures persist.
Thus far in 2017, no cases of Chikungunya or yellow fever have been reported in Cuba, but the reappearance or increase of the illnesses in other parts of Latin America indicate the importance of continued vigilance, the IPK insists, calling for redoubled efforts to control Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. (Taken from en.granma.cu)
