Zika virus: Aggressive public health efforts keep Cuba safer than other tropical areas

Despite considerable financial disadvantages, public health agencies in Cuba have much to teach those in Hawaii about safeguards against the Zika virus, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Both islands are at risk for the virus due to their tropical climates, but Hawaii recently reported its first cases while Cuba remains one of the only high-risk nations with no cases at all, writes Matthew Pflaum. The difference lies in Cuba's aggressive, proactive approach: Soldiers on the island nation have conducted door-to-door mosquito spraying, while Hawaii has done considerably less spraying. "Hawaii has not taken the Zika threat seriously, just as it failed to do with dengue. The result will inevitably be sick people, and perhaps deaths," Pflaum writes. "And it could spread even further because of what we know about Zika's capacity to spread via sexual activity." Article