Cuba Fights Surge in Dengue and Chikungunya, Straining Workers

As of November 14th, 2025, Cuba is facing a severe outbreak of mosquito-borne illnesses, including dengue fever and chikungunya virus, that have swept across the island nation in recent weeks. According to the country's chief epidemiologist, Francisco Duran, these outbreaks are affecting nearly one-third of the Cuban population and sickening large swaths of the workforce.

Dengue fever has long been a problem in Cuba, but the situation has grown worse due to the ongoing economic crisis, which has hampered the government's ability to fumigate, clean up roadside trash, and repair leaky pipes - all of which contribute to the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Chikungunya, once rare on the island, has also spread rapidly in recent months.

Authorities in the capital city of Havana, one of the hardest-hit areas, have deployed fumigators to probe alleys and crowded buildings in an effort to combat the outbreak. However, local resident Tania Menendez warns that more needs to be done to address the underlying issues of garbage-strewn streets and broken infrastructure that are facilitating the spread of these epidemics.

With severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, many Cubans are unable to purchase insect repellent and face frequent power outages that force them to leave windows and doors open, further enabling the transmission of these mosquito-borne illnesses.