HAVANA, January 21 (Juan Carlos Linares, Cuba- Verdad / www.cubanet.org) -
Medical personnel at the polyclinic in Párraga, in the Havana
municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, are limiting blood tests to patients who present
symptoms of dengue fever and to pregnant women.
"We were ordered to give priority to those patients due to the scarcity
of reagents," said one nurse at the polyclinic Friday.
An employee of the polyclinic said that municipal health authorities are
under pressure from higher-ups in the government "who are afraid the dengue
epidemic could get out of control."
The campaign to eradicate the aedes aegyptii mosquito, which transmits the
disease, seems to have affected public transportation in the capital city.
After Saturday, January 12, when the government ordered increased spraying
for the mosquito, there has been an appreciable reduction in the frequency of
bus service.
An employee at the bus terminal in Santa Amalia, in the Havana municipality
of 10 de Octubre, said that "the reduction in the frequency of service has
the objective of saving diesel fuel."
Diesel fuel is the preferred method here to combat mosquito infestations. It
is sprayed over standing water to form a layer of oil which prevents the
mosquito larvae from hatching.
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