Dengue on the Spotlight of International Forum in Havana

HAVANA, Cuba.- Some 300 Cuban and foreign experts are participating at the 13th International Course on Dengue Control, underway at Havana Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute until August 23.

Attending the forum is US Doctor Scott Halstead, who has extensively worked on the disease including hemorrhagic dengue, said organizing committee president Doctor Guadalupe Guzman.

Also present is Cuban Doctor Juan Bicet, one of the most outstanding specialists in the fight on the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits Dengue, a disease not only affecting tropical countries, but also European nations, said Doctor Guzman, who also heads the Virology Department at the Tropical Medicine Institute.

During the forum, Cuba will present its comprehensive surveillance program, which includes issues in areas such epidemiology, immunology, laboratory, clinical medicine, and others.

The Cuban experts will also present their experience in Dengue Control and community participation, the training of medical personnel, the influence by climate change on Dengue transmission, as well as local vaccines.

(ACN)